


Communication Breakdown

by luxshine



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 06, F/M, FIx It, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2014-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-01 08:14:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1042478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luxshine/pseuds/luxshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Recently escaped from Hell, Sam goes looking for his brother. But Dean is not staying with Lisa, Bobby hasn't seen him since Stull, and Castiel can't find him because he still has enochian sigils on his ribs. And with Raphael bent on freeing Lucifer and Michael to re-start the apocalypse, it's a race to find Dean before Raphael does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There are a couple of changes from canon here. Don't worry, as the story goes on, you'll see how they happened. A lot of people are still alive, for example. Sam has his soul. And the rest... well, this is a fix it for a reason.
> 
> Italics are telepathy.

Robert Singer, Bobby to his friends and the large but diminishing hunter community of the USA,  had seen many strange and unbelievable things in his life, since the moment when his wife Karen had been possessed by a demon. But he had to admit that the really crazy stuff had started the day that he opened the door to find the recently resurrected Dean Winchester waiting to find his younger brother.

So he couldn't really say that he was surprised two years later when he opened the same door to find the other Winchester brother freshly back from Hell.

Of course, he wasn't a fool. Even if Dean had ended up being Dean, Bobby didn't let his guard down around Sam until the boy had passed every single test Bobby could think off, up and including making him jump over a Holy Fire ring and check that he wasn't expelled by an angel banishing sigil.

Even then, Bobby was still wary. Because something wasn't right.  He could've believed that Dean came back from Hell, even before they found out an angel had pulled him out. But Sam hadn't been just in hell. Sam had jumped straight into the deepest circle, Lucifer's cage. And if Sam was out... that meant the cage wasn't as inescapable as they had thought.

"So what did your idjit brother do and where is he?" Bobby asked, as he handed Sam a towel to dry himself after the impromptu bath of holy water.

"I... thought he was with you," Sam answered, looking confused. It was an expression Bobby knew well, from the days when John had left the two boys under his care where he went off hunting clues to the Yellow Eyed Demon's whereabouts. "Do you think he did this? He promised me he wouldn't try it..."

"Well, I didn't brought you back, boy, even if I'm happy to see you again. And the only other person I can think off who would know what happen to you is Dean."

"But... wait... Dean isn't with you either?"

"Last I saw your brother, he said he was going to fulfill his promise to you. Do you have any idea where he could be?"

Sam frowned again, and Bobby's bad feeling increased. Sam had been expecting to find Dean at the scrape yard, as if he had never believed that his brother would try and fulfill whatever promise Sam had gotten from him.  As much as Bobby had admitted to Dean that they had been treating Sam like a child, he also had to admit that Sam didn't have much faith in his older brother, and it showed now.

"I asked him to get out of the hunting business," Sam finally admitted. "Go with his friend, Lisa, and try to get the life he really wanted. A job, a kid, the kind of life we could never have."

Bobby swore under his breath, narrowing his eyes. Back in his study, away from curious eyes, he had a package that had arrived just the day after the apocalypse that wasn't. Dean had left it in the motel where Sam hunted him when he had been adamant to accept Michael's offer, and some helpful clerk had mailed it to Singer's Salvage yard. While he had intended to give it back as soon as Dean called him to tell him where he was, Bobby's curiosity had gotten the best of him, and he had read Dean's letter to Sam. That was exactly the same promise Dean had asked of his brother. Apparently, the idjits were both convinced that the other had to get out of the business, even if neither was in any hurry to do it themselves.

"And you didn't go to this Lisa's place to see if he was there?"

"I..." Sam fidgeted, as if he was looking for the right words to say. Despite himself, Bobby found himself again on his guard. Something wasn't quite right. "Your place was closer."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's go and find your brother and see what kind of mess he got himself into to get you out of hell," Bobby shook his head as he walked past Sam and out into the yard. He still had to summon Crowley to get his soul back, but the way he saw things going, if he didn't accompany Sam  the kid could do something really stupid like no telling Dean he was back if he thought his brother was happy with that Lisa woman.

And so, two years after he had drove Dean in that same truck to find his brother Sam, he was doing the same for Sam. Maybe now John and the kid Adam could also come back and so Bobby would get the whole Winchester set.

After all, stranger things had happened around that family. And, all things considered, he was grateful most of them had lived to tell the tale.

***

As they approached Lisa's house, Sam started to feel nervous.

Despite what Bobby might have thought, he had absolute confidence that Dean had gone to her. The only reason he hadn't gone to find him first had been the distance and the very pressing issue of making sure that he was still himself despite everything that had happened. No one had been more relieved than Sam himself when all the tests had came up negative. While he still wasn't sure that he was out of the woods -he had already once made the mistake to believe that he was free of his demon blood addiction after all- at least he could breathe easily knowing that he wasn't a danger to Dean, Bobby and everyone in the world.  So yeah, he knew Dean was with Lisa. He had promised Sam he would go to her, and Sam knew that his brother had never broken his promises. Not to him. Even at the cost of his own soul, Dean had never betrayed Sam's trust.

Which meant that Sam didn't have long to think about what he would say to his brother. 'Hey, I got out of Lucifer's cage' didn't seem like enough, but at the same time, it was the only explanation he could offer.

According to Bobby, Sam had been in hell less than a week. For Sam it had been closer to two years, but he wasn't completely sure of that. Still, it was nothing compared to Dean's time under and now he finally understood why Dean had been so reluctant to speak about that experience. Thankfully, Bobby hadn't asked, and Sam hoped Dean wouldn't want to either.

For the first time in his life, all that Sam wanted to do was to get his brother back, and then go and find an easy hunt. A salt and burn. A poltergeist. A woman in White. Something normal, for them. Nothing to do with demons, angels, or the horrible past year. After everything that had happened since Jess's death, Sam craved *his* normal life, and not the normal life he had always idealized. Maybe it had been the time in hell, but Sam had finally realized that for him, the life of a hunter was his normal life; he had felt better when he and Dean were out looking for hunts, helping people, not thinking about vessels, seals... or Lucifer.

Sam was determined not to think about Lucifer, at least for the time being.

"The Impala is not in the driveway," Bobby's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he tried to see the Breaden's  house. True enough, there was no sign of the distinctive black car that was his brother's pride and joy.

"Maybe it's in the garage?" Sam offered, but even as he said so he knew it was highly unlikely. Dean had a lot of rules regarding the Impala, and rule #1 was that no one backed baby in a garage. She was made for the road."I'll go check."

Sam approached the house, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling that was growing at the pit of his sotmach. Through the window he could see Lisa in the kitchen, and he guessed that the light in the second floor was Ben's room. It looked just like the old house. The one he and Dean had visited in that year he didn't like to remember, the year before Dean was dragged to Hell  A house that was perfect for a single mother and her son.

Trying to ignore his instincts, Sam rang the bell and prepared himself. Dean was going to open the door, take one good look at him and then punch him in the face. Sam could almost feel the punch, and hear his brother yelling to Lisa to get him salt and something silver. Then Sam would try to defend himself, to explain. And Dean would finally listen, and everything would work out.

Except none of that happened.

Lisa was the one who opened the door. And as soon as her eyes met his, Sam knew that his brother wasn't there.

"Is Dean..." Lisa started to say, her voice breaking up as she said Dean's name. She took a deep breath, visibly trying to control her emotions and Sam hated himself for making her look like that. Hated DEAN for not being there. "What happened?"

"Dean is all right," Sam hurried to say, trying to comfort her. Or maybe to comfort himself. "I just... we got separated and I thought... when was the last time you saw him?"

He could see in her eyes that he hadn't quite convinced her that Dean was fine. It probably was because he wasn't sure of it anymore.

"I... I think it was three weeks ago? Before the strange storms in Kansas," Lisa said, her eyes turning a little colder. "He said something was going to happen, but that me and Ben... we shouldn't worry. He said he was going to make arrangements for us to be safe and... some other things."

Sam lowered his eyes and swore. That had to be before Dean had decided to cave to Zachariah's demands, before they found out that the angels had brought Adam back. Which meant he had just lost his only clue to his brother's whereabouts. Because if Dean wasn't with Lisa, and he wasn't with Bobby, Sam had no idea where his brother could be.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you." Sam started to leave, when Lisa grabbed his arm. She was fighting back tears, and Sam felt his heart break. That was his fault. He should've made sure that Dean was there before bothering her. But now it was to late to take that back.

"Tell me, what happened?" She insisted, not letting go. "Dean looked like death warmed over when I saw him, and now you... I thought you two were traveling together all the time. Tell me, what happened?"

For one second, Sam was tempted to tell her everything. She already knew what he and Dean did, she had faced a changeling using the face of her son trying to kill her. But then he saw her house. Her perfect house, where no demon, vampire, werewolf or ghost had ever stepped in and he couldn't bring himself to tell her. He told himself that Dean would never forgive him if he brought the horrors of their lives to Lisa's doorstep. 

"I'm sorry, Lisa. It's better if you don't know."

"At least promise me you'll let me know when you find Dean," she said, glaring at Sam. It was obvious that she wasn't happy with his answer. "Let me know that he's really fine. If you can't tell me what had him so spooked, at least don't let me think that he's dead in a ditch somewhere."

Trying not to picture exactly that, Sam nodded. "I promise. Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine. It's not the first time we've been separated by a hunt."

Forcing himself to smile, Sam finally managed to leave the door. as he returned to Bobby's truck, however, he wanted to scream. Last time he had died, Dean had been so self destructive that he had made a deal with a crossroad demon. This time, things had looked a lot bleaker and if Dean wasn't with Lisa... where the hell was he?

***

It is a common misconception that angels are constantly listening to prayers. In fact, most angels couldn't care less when humans prayed. Castiel knew very well that most of his brothers and sisters considered humans a lesser life form and, when they actually lowered themselves to listen to the prayers in question, it was only to mock the inability of humans to deal with their problems on their own, always asking for their Father to solve their suffering with a miracle.

After the apocalypse that wasn't, Castiel now appreciated the irony of it. After all, all angels, from the lowliest cupid to the most powerful archangel, were just waiting for their Father to come back and tell them what to do.

Prayers were often ignored, but once in a while, there was one who called the attention of all the host, by virtue of being interesting enough among the millions of 'please, God, help me/my loved ones'. In that sense, Heaven hadn't changed much, not even after the apocalypse had decimated most of the Garrisons and where there had been once four archangels, now there was only one.

When Castiel had said goodbye to Dean Winchester, he had let Dean believe he was now 'heaven's sheriff'.  It had been a lie, and not a very good one at that, but it had served its purpose. Dean had been satisfied that Heaven wouldn't meddle in humanity's business again. It was all Castiel could do to repay all of Dean's sacrifice.

Learning that Raphael had no intention of respecting their Father's wishes had been a strong blow to Castiel's already dwindling faith. But faced with the option of kneeling to what he knew was wrong, or rebelling again, he wasn't sure he still had the courage to do the right thing. Not without Dean's support.

_Please, God, let Dean be  ok. Let them find him quickly. Please, don't let him be dead._

The prayer came to Castiel as he was considering going down to Earth to ask Dean for advice. At first he thought the prayer was about some other Dean, given that humans were so many, there were a lot of repeated names. But he knew the voice of the supplicant. It was Lisa Braeden, the woman with whom Dean was supposed to be living.

It took Castiel no more than a thought to fly to Earth. Dean was still invisible to him and all angels, when he had healed him at Stull Cementery, he had left the sigils on his ribs intact. But now, Castiel cursed himself for it. Because if Dean was not with Lisa Braeden, then he had no way to find him.

He had barely touched Earth when a new prayer reached him. A far more personal prayer, which was also impossible.

_I pray to the Angel Castiel to come to me._

Sam Winchester's voice was clear as a bell inside Castiel's head, despite the fact that Castel knew that it was impossible for prayers  from hell to reach heaven. Sam had said yes to Lucifer. The last time he  had seen and heard Sam had been when Lucifer had killed Castiel.

Sam Winchester couldn't be praying to him.

_Please, Cas... I think my brother may be in trouble._

Despite the fact that Castiel thought it was impossible, and it could be a trap, he couldn't ignore this prayer. Sam himself  he could and had ignored more than once. At first, because Sam was an _abomination_. Lucifer's vessel and the one who would allow demons to walk the Earth. It had been difficult for Castiel to be around Sam in those days. But later, as he slowly fell from Grace and learned more about Sam,  it was just because there was nothing Castiel could do to answer said prayers. The little power he still had was reserved for when Dean needed it. Because Castiel would never not answer if Dean was in trouble.

He appeared on the living room of Robert Singer's house, still invisible, trying to assess the situation.  Sam and Bobby were there, both of them worried. It took Castiel less than a second to realize that yes, the man standing there was Sam Winchester. His soul was unmistakeable. There were muted red lines around it, the scars created by the demon blood that he had ingested since he was a baby, as well as a muted patch near his heart, a sign of the multiple times that he had been possessed, but it was still Sam. Still human, filled with love. The love that Castiel had originally refused to see when dealing with him because his orders were clear: Lucifer's vessel was of no consequence. Now, he regretted those actions because, if nothing else, he knew that the way in which he treated Sam caused Dean pain.

"Sam," he said, turning visible so that both humans would know he was there. "How did you escaped the Cage?"

That was the first questions of many he wanted to ask. In truth, the first one was 'Where is your brother'? but he knew that the one about the cage was more important. Because if Sam was out, that meant that Lucifer and Michael were out too. And that only meant that Raphael's plan was working.

"I don't know," Sam shook his head. "Last I remember I was pulling Adam with me into the pit, and next thing I know I was sitting outside Stull with a headache. "

"What happened to Lucifer and Michael? And where is your brother?" Castiel urged, stepping forward and all but ignoring Singer, who was frowning at Sam. As if he had just realized that if Sam was free from hell, that meant that the Apocalypse could still happen.

"As far as I know, they're still on the cage. But about Dean, that's the thing. We don't know," Sam answered quickly. "He wasn't with Bobby, he wasn't with Lisa, and I'm running out of ideas. Can you find him?"

 "You know I can't," Castiel said,  measuring Sam's words. He was telling the truth, or, at the very least, what he believed to be the truth. But there was something in the way he said it that made Castiel doubt. Or maybe it was just that he now was used to doubt everything. One of the many things he had learned since getting Dean out of Hell. "I marked you and your brother just to avoid my brothers finding you."

"So we're back on square one," Bobby finally interrupted, looking even angrier. "You should've taken away those scribbles of yours when you healed him."

Castiel didn't reply. It was useless to explain his actions to the mortals, to explain that even if the Apocalypse was adverted and the main instigators were gone, there could still be angels in heaven who wanted nothing more than hurt Dean. Castiel had never found out how many of his garrison alone had said yes to Uriel, much less how many of his brothers and sisters agreed with Zachariah.

Instead, he closed his eyes and let his consciousness free. He couldn't find Dean. That was far beyond his powers. But there was one other angel who didn't hate the Winchesters, and who had more than once proved that not  all laws regarding angels applied to him.

_Gabriel? Brother? I need your help._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for Dean intensifies when Gabriel is brought to the team.

Sam was not ready to see the  former Trickster appear in front of them as soon as Castiel called him. After he had tried to force them to say yes to Lucifer and Michael by trapping them inside different TV shows and they had discovered he was in fact  an angel, Gabriel had only helped them occasionally, claiming to be 'Team Free Will part time'.  Sam had pretty much decided they could trust him when he had saved Ellen and Jo from Hellhounds the day they had discovered that the Colt couldn't kill Lucifer, and later, Gabriel had both warned them away from a trap set by the pagan gods and told them about the lock to Lucifer's Cage but afterwards had decided not to help directly. Gabriel didn't want the other angels to figure out he was alive, or so he had said. After that, Sam was sure they would never see him again.

Caught by surprise as he was, he almost didn't register the shock in Gabriel's features until the archangel slammed him against the wall.

"How did you get out?" Gabriel asked, unusually serious as his angel blade appeared out of thin air "Because I was pretty sure that cage was inescapable, bro."

"What?! No! Gabriel, It's me, Sam!" Sam yelled, pretty sure that an Angel sword would  kill him no matter what. "I'm not Lucifer! And I don't know how I got out!"

Gabriel narrowed his eyes, and Sam was pretty sure that his mind was being read by the angel and tried to concentrate in the one thing that was important: Dean's safety.  Behind him, he could see Bobby grabbing his shotgun but Sam couldn't know if he was planning to help him or help Gabriel.

"Hello, Sammy," Gabriel finally let him go, although Sam wasn't sure if he actually believed that he was no danger. "So... you lost Dean-o? That's why Castiel called me?"

"Dean is hidden  from all angels," Castiel explained. "But I hoped that perhaps you knew another way to find him."

Gabriel started sucking on a lollipop, shaking his head. "Sorry, bro. I'm not an actual pagan god, I just play one on T.V.. Your art project keeps Dean-o invisible from me too."

"But you found us back at Wellington," Sam protested. "You knew we were coming."

"I set an obvious trap for you and waited." Gabriel shrugged. "I  hoped that you would come before I had to bring Lou Ferrigno to the mix, but you were always slow that way."

"If Dean was still hunting, that could be a way to find him," Bobby pointed out just as Sam wanted to deny it. He knew Dean wasn't hunting. He didn't know how he knew, but it was obvious to him that his brother was not in some road motel, cleaning up his weapons. Bobby seemed to notice his unease, as he continued. "What? There aren't many other options. We know that he's alive, and that's pretty much it."

"Are we sure he's alive?" Gabriel asked, voicing the one question Sam didn't want to consider.  Because he could still remember with deadly clarity the first time he and Dean had encountered the Croatoan virus. That horrible hour while they waited to see  if he was infected or not. The absolute calm with which Dean held his gun, sitting on the doctor's table.  And he could see it in his mind. Dean calmly sitting on the bed of some motel, holding his handgun as he considered the pros and cons of not fulfilling his promise to Sam. Lifting the barrel to his mouth.

"He has to be alive," he said, trying to dispel the image from his head. "I know he's alive."

"But are we sure?" Gabriel pressed. "Or are we chasing our tails while your big brother is enjoying the memories of all his one night stands in heaven? Because you must know, after all you and your brother did? It's highly unlikely that you would go downstairs."

"Dean isn't in heaven or hell," Castiel interrupted with such certainty that Sam couldn't help but be glad. If Cas was sure of it, then Dean was alive. Any doubt created by Gabriel's words dispelled instantly. "I can't sense his body, but I know his soul. If he had died, I would've known immediately. "

"This is getting us nowhere," Bobby interrupted. "If you and Sam are sure that Dean is not dead, then he's not dead. I'm sure we would've heard something in the news if he had died during a hunt because no matter what the FBI believes, yet another 'Dean Winchester' body showing up would've made it to the papers after last time. So the question is, how the hell are we going to find him?"

*             *             *

Four weeks later,  Sam was starting to lose hope that they would find Dean. It was as if his brother had just disappeared from the face of the earth.

It reminded him of that first year hunting with Dean, when they were looking for their dad. If there was one thing that Winchesters knew how to do, it was to keep themselves hidden, from law enforcement, from supernatural creatures on revenge fueled trips, even from other hunters when needed. But this was too much. Not even John had managed to keep himself completely out of sight, and from time to time, reports of him being in town would crop up. Not so with Dean. Ellen, after almost chewing Sam and Bobby's head for not calling her sooner, had started some very discreet  inquiries with the hunters she trusted. After Sam had killed Lilith, most hunters had decided that he was something else to be hunted and thus, it was difficult to ask for help. Jo had teamed up with one of Bobby's friends, a gangly guy who seemed as if the wind could blow him over named Garth, and they also had their eyes and ears opened for anything that sounded like Dean.   As far as Sam knew, Castiel hadn't gone back to Heaven, instead searching for Dean with the same  fervor that he had while looking for God all over the world, and Gabriel _said_ that he was also checking with his pagan friends.

And yet, no one could find Dean.

After the first week of waiting for any news, Bobby had sent  Sam to check a series of disappearances and mysterious deaths in Indiana, not far from Lisa's house.  Sam tried his best to avoid her, with no answers about Dean's whereabouts which means that what would've been a somewhat simple hunt for a group of djinn take far longer than it should. Or perhaps it had been just that, without Dean, Sam didn't have the heart to put his all into the hunt.

"What do you have for me, Ellen?" He asked as he answered his phone. He was thinking about not going back to Bobby's but just driving, finding himself a crossroads and then finding any demon who was willing to talk to a Winchester just to find his brother. So far, that plan had been nixed by everyone as no one really knew what was going on in Hell, and no one wanted to alert some of the bigger threats that Dean was missing. But Sam was starting to lose hope, starting to feel like he had in those months that hadn't happened, after Dean had died for the 101st  time.

"Nothing on the Dean front, sorry" Ellen's voice calmed him a little. In those months, he had separated himself completely from people. Now, he had friends. And they were going to help him find his brother. "Gabriel thinks that someone must be  hiding him through some spell, and that's what we're looking at now. "

Sam grimaced. Remembering the months without Dean was a sure way to make himself question why the hell they were trusting the Archangel. But it made sense that there was something magic keeping them from finding his brother. With all the resources they had _someone_ had to have seen something.

"Sam? You still there?" Ellen sounded pissed, so Sam guessed he had missed something important she had said.

"I'm here, Ellen, sorry... Went woolgathering. What did you say?"

"I said that  maybe you also had to keep an eye out for a group of hunters that seem to be bad news," Ellen repeated, cautiously.  "Remember what you and Dean told us about Mary's family?"

"The Campbells, yes," Sam nodded on the phone, lowering his speed. He was in a hurry to get to Bobby's but he didn't want to get in an accident because he wasn't paying attention to the road. "Family of hunters, never even tried to contact Dad after Mom died. What about them?"

"A couple of the Roadhouse regulars have crossed paths with them this last month. Apparently, Samuel Campbell and his nephew Christian  were hunting an Arachne in Rhode Island."

"That can't be!"

"I know," Ellen continued. "You can't find Arachnes outside of Crete, but..."

"No, I mean, it can't be Samuel Campbell. Dean saw him die at Azazel's hands in 1973.  It was his death that started the whole mess for mom and dad." Sam swore. He hadn't met his grandfather when Anna and Castiel had sent them back in time, but for what Dean had told him, he had been a good hunter. He didn't deserve having some creature parading around pretending to be him.

"His nephew vouches for him," Ellen explained. "Apparently, he had to go deep, deep undercover because there were some hard hitting demons after his head. What do you think, kiddo. Does that sound  plausible to you?"

"No way. Dean saw him  eviscerate himself. Hell, you can read it in Chuck's books."

"Chuck's books?" Ellen repeated, confused.

"He's a prophet who thought his dreams about Dean and me were just his imagination and decided to write our lives into very shitty novels,"  Sam explained, trying to find consolation in the knowledge that at the very least, he had stopped writing before they freed Lucifer, and that the existent books were out of print and forgotten in one dollar bins. After all, he had put an end to Becky and Chuck's plans to publish the following books himself.

There was a long silence on the other side of the line. Long enough that  he feared that the call had been cut.

"Sam Winchester, do you mean to say that there's someone in this country who can see everything you and Dean do?" Ellen asked, slowly as she waited for Sam to make the connection himself. "And you forgot ?!"

*             *             *

The  drive to Kripke's Hollow was too slow for Sam's tastes. He had always complained about Dean's tendency to drive just below the speed limit, always trying to get as fast as he could everywhere, but now, now that he was alone and he finally had a possible clue to Dean's whereabouts, he totally understood his brother.

In fact, as soon as he found Dean, he was going to apologize for a lot of things, starting with making him promise to go to Lisa. If Dean hadn't been alone on the road, this wouldn't have happened. Bobby would've kept an eye on him, of that, Sam was sure.

Still, as he walked down the lawn of Chuck's house, he was glad he was alone. Because with Dean missing, there hadn't been a lot of time to question exactly how Sam had gotten out of Hell and for now, that was good news.  But if Chuck was still getting visions that were not intercepted by Zachariah and Michael, that meant that Chuck could know. And Sam had to make sure that the prophet didn't tell anyone until Sam was ready.

He had promised Dean that there would be no more secrets between them after what happened with Ruby. And he was going to fulfill that promise. As soon as they found Dean, as soon as he was in his rightful place in the passenger seat of the Impala, Sam was going to tell his brother _everything_. And of course, Dean would help him get out of the deal. Or help him fulfill it. But he was not going to tell anyone what had happened in hell before he found his brother. Dean had the right to be the first one to know.

At the very least, Dean  had the right to be the first one to yell at him  for being an idiot.

"Enough stalling, Sam, you're here," he told himself as he knocked on the door. Even if Chuck knew the truth, it was all right. Because it meant that he also knew where Dean was.

There was a crash inside the house, as if he had woken someone up, just like the first time he and Dean had come to figure out what was going on behind the Supernatural books. However, to his surprise, it wasn't the drunken, jumpy writer/prophet the one who opened the door, but a short brunette woman he recognized immediately.

"Sam! You're really here!" She said, but, surpisingly, didn't move forward to touch him. Not that Sam was complaining. Once the shock of seeing his (former?) number one fan again wore off, Sam remembered that she and Chuck had hit it off back at the Supernatural Convention that he and Dean had swore never to talk about again.  "Oh, My God! I wasn't sure, I just... I'm so glad to see you!"

"Hi, Becky... uhm... Is Chuck home?"

"He... He disappeared, Sam. I don't know where. One day he was skyping with me about how he was sure you and Dean would win against Lucifer and the next... "  Becky looked down, depressed and Sam felt a little guilty even when he had no idea what had set her off. She had always seemed to happy around him and Dean so this suddenly subdued version of her was off putting, to say the least. "You have to help me find him!"

Sam groaned, shaking his head. "Becky, I can't. My brother..."

"But you have to! He said you would!" Becky insisted, pulling him into the house. Now that was more like the Becky he remembered. Inside, the house was both better and worse than the last time Sam had been there, when Dean had been frantic to find Cas just to hear that Cas had been blown apart by an archangel. It looked as if someone had actually cleaned and organized the place... and then gone insane and turned everything upside down again.  "Right before he disappeared, he  told me that if anything happened to him, I was to come here and wait for YOU."

"Wait, what? He knew he was going to disappear and he didn't tell you why? Weren't you two dating?"

Becky let his hand go, her back stiffening, and Sam knew he had said something wrong. When Becky turned to see him, she was smiling, even if the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"We had... he... We worked better as friends," Becky said, still smiling like a damned doll. "It was better for both of us. And I don't think he knew he was going to 'disappear'... It's more like... he suspected someone might come for him. He said... he said that some angels were still listening. That things could go two ways, depending on what you did on Stull and... he kept notes of both things. And _I can't find the notes!_ "

At the end, Becky's voice raised up, as she was getting hysterical. Sam closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Becky, focus. Calm down. You told me he had let you read his notes before and you have a great memory for details. Remember? You told me and Dean about Crowley and the Colt."

"But it didn't _work_! And Ellen and Jo almost died and they were going to die according to Chuck's first version and I don't..."

"First version?" Sam tried again to call her attention, before she went out on a tangent again. At the very least, she didn't seem sad anymore and that was a relief. She could be annoying when she was happy, but Sam had never been good dealing with sad women. That was more Dean's territory.

"He said that you and Dean were changing fate. That put him in a bad mood for days, you know? Because he would get two or three visions of the same thing, just a bit different. Like that thing with the cannibals and Famine? I think he wrote four versions of that one. You were very brave in all of them, trying to fight your addiction to the demon blood. I was very proud of you Sam. Except that when you didn't drink the demon's blood, then you couldn't fight Famine and then Castiel would've eaten..." Suddenly, Becky looked at him, biting her lip. Sam knew he didn't want to know the rest of that sentence. He had lived through the nightmare that was a town possessed by Famine, he didn't want to know what would've happened if they failed to stop the Horseman. "Where's Dean?"

*             *             *

In the end, the trip to Kripke's Hollow wasn't a complete waste of time. Sure, now Sam had to find both Dean AND Chuck, with no clues at all to what could've happened to the former, but Becky had promised him that she would keep looking for  Chuck's missing notes.

Originally, she had wanted to go with him, insisting that she would be useful while looking for both Dean and Chuck -although Sam had tried to make it clear that Dean was a priority because, disappeared or not, Chuck still had the archangels protection over him and, as far as he remembered, said protection was nothing to scoff at - but Sam had managed to convince her that the notes were far more important. At the end, Zachariah had been furious at Dean for not following the script, and so, Sam wanted to know what the original script was. And if he could find the answer in the prophet's notes, everything would be much better. 

Now he was regretting not letting Chuck keep publishing. As creepy as the idea was that other people could be reading his most intimate thoughts and all his mistakes, right now it would be valuable information, even if the actual *books* ended with Dean saying yes to Michael at Van Nuys. That book wasn't even finished, not really. Becky had pouted a lot about it since the very last moment that she had read was when Zachariah had died at Dean's hands, and Chuck had refused to tell her what had happened afterwards.   Still, he had now something to do while he waited for any news on his brother.

As he took the highway that would eventually lead him back to Bobby's house, his cell rang.

"Yes?"

"Where are you, Sam?" As always, Castiel didn't waste time with pleasantries. Once upon a time, this had bothered Sam a lot. It was one of the ways in which angels were completely alien to him. But now, he was grateful. At least someone seemed to have the same urgency as he had to find Dean.

"I'm on the 90, just past Chamberlain, Cas." Sam said and hung up the phone just as the angel appeared in the passenger seat. At times, Sam wondered if it wouldn't be better just to ask Cas to erase the enochian sigils from his ribs so Cas could find him easily, but  somehow, it never seemed a good moment to ask.

"There is a strange situation in Pennsylvania," Castiel said, without preamble. "I need your help."

"Does that have to do with Dean?" Sam asked, as he mentally started calculating the fastest route to Pennsylvania from where he was and wondered if he should make a pit stop at Bobby's first.

"I am not sure," Castiel lowered his head. While the Angel didn't have many tells, that one was a very noticeable one. He didn't want to admit he didn't have all the answers. "It's a city  that is a complete blind spot for me.  I can enter it, but I don't remember what I saw inside once I leave. I've tried many times, with the same result. And there's a case for you there."

"How do you know, if you can't remember entering the city?" Sam questioned, curious. Whatever it was, it had to be incredibly powerful to affect Castiel like that. Especially since he seemed to have gotten back to his old power levels since Stull.

"I saw the papers outside it. A police officer died during an investigation. All his internal organs liquefied into blood."

 "If it is a witch, it must be really powerful to hid a whole town from you," Sam started thinking about his father's notes. But nothing he could think of was able to actually liquefy a person. In fact, that sounded a little bit out of his league.

"No witch has the power to influence an angel of the Lord, Sam."

"I know. So we're going to need reinforcements for this one," Sam wasn't going to let the angel argue with him. If something in Pennsylvania was trying to hide a whole city from an angel, there was a chance that it had to do with Dean. Or...  "Chuck Shurley is missing."

"He is safe," Castiel answered, not even bothering to ask. Which meant that the prophet's disappearance had to do with Heaven. "No matter where he is, if he was in danger,  I believe Raphael would protect him."

"You believe?" Sam lifted his eyebrow. "As in, you're not sure?"

"Raphael and I have had... disagreements in the past." Once again, Castiel's face was unreadable, but Sam could see right then that it was an understatement. "But I am sure that he would not fail to do his sacred duty if it was needed."

"Well, if you say so. But if something happens to Chuck, you're going to have to explain it to his girlfriend."

*             *             *

Bobby was not happy as they walked into the morgue of  Easter, Pennsylvania, two weeks later.

Once Sam and Castiel had explained about the blind spot, he had agreed to go with them as backup.  While he also thought that whatever that was powerful enough to  block an angel's memory was perhaps a bit above their abilities, there was no way in hell that he was going to let Sam go there alone. At first, he had been sending Sam on easy hunts in order to distract him a bit from the fact that none of them seemed to be able to find his brother, but he'd be damned if they managed to lose Sam in the process.

Even more damned, since he still hadn't had the time to get his soul back from Crowley, since no one wanted the demon near the information that Dean was missing.

In the time that it had took them to reach Easter,  two  more deaths had occurred. Besides Hatch, the man who liquefied, there was Officer Tobias Gray. This man had ended up covered in boils, from head to toe, outside and _inside_ , causing him to choke to death.  Finally, Edward  Colfax, had died when a bunch of locusts hatched from his brain.

"Any  connection between the three victims?" he asked the Forensic officer on duty. Behind him Sam and Castiel were examining Gray's body. While the stupid angel still hadn't perfected the art of pretending to be an FBI officer,  Bobby couldn't deny that he could see things a human couldn't.

"Colfax was Gray's partner until Jerry got promoted, two months ago," the forensic officer told him, shrugging. "Since then, the only place they saw each other was at the Wiener Hut  in Hepburn St."

"What about Hatch? Did he also eat there?" Bobby asked, taking notes. It wasn't much to go on, but if it was the only place that the victims had in common besides the police station, it was better than nothing.

"I guess?"  the officer shrugged, pointing to the table behind him. Sure enough, there was a red and white take out bag with the Wiener Hut logo. "Half the station eats there because it's close."

Bobby thanked the officer and signaled Sam and Castiel to follow him outside. They were barely out  of the station when Castiel decided to speak up.

"There were no traces of witchcraft in either body. If there had been any remains left of Officer Hatch, I am sure it would be the case too."

"I think it sounds a bit biblical," Sam said, easing his tie. "Blood, Boils and Locusts. Those are three of the ten plagues, aren't they?"

"So what? Without the apocalypse now Angels have decided that they wanted to get involved with us _mud monkeys?_ " Bobby turned to look at Castiel who, surprisingly, didn't met his gaze but instead looked downwards. _Ashamed._ "What? Is there something you aren't telling us, boy?"

And yes, perhaps it was not wise to talk like that to the angel of the Lord who had brought him back to life, but Bobby had also seen this same angel drunk, and powerless and thus, it was hard to feel threatened by him.

"There is a... situation in heaven," Castiel admitted. "A group of Angels believe that the apocalypse should still happen."

"Wait, before he disappeared, Dean said that you were the new sheriff in Heaven," Bobby pressed. Behind them Sam had gone silent. The boy was hiding something, of that Bobby was sure. Unfortunately, with all that was happening, he wasn't sure when he would have the time to confront him about it. "Why aren't you putting a stop to it?"

"Dean might have been... misinformed," Castiel admitted. "It was not a situation he could help with, so there was no need for him to know. I was... considering my possible routes of action when Sam called. Since then, I am afraid I have not been as attentive as I should be to what is going on."

Which was cryptic angelic bastard for 'the angels will fuck up human lives again'. As if they didn't have enough worries on their plate.

"Balls! So? Is this part of it? Are we looking at a new set of seals being broken?"

Sam went white as a sheet as soon as Bobby said the words. Not that he could blame him. After all, the seals being broken would mean that Lucifer could try to use him as a prom dress again. Even worse, it would mean that of course they couldn't find  Dean. He was in the place where the idjit Angel had assured them he couldn't be.

Hell.

"No. Dean is not in hell, and he wouldn't break again if that was the case," Castiel assured them, his voice regaining the steely resolve he got every time he denied that Dean could be dead. "And both the first and the last seal are needed, and they are impossible to change.  The last seal is Lilith's death. They cannot bring her back from where she was sent when Sam killed her. All the seals could break today, and it wouldn't make a difference to Lucifer's cage."

"Then what is this?" Bobby waved around, starting to lose his patience. It was a common thing when he had to deal with Angels and their mysterious ways. At least monsters tended to be very straight forward with their plans: They usually just wanted to eat or kill you.

What did it say about him that he missed the days when his biggest worry was to getting eaten?

"I don't know. But I will find out." And with that, Castiel disappeared, probably to canvas the city.

"Don't!" Bobby swore, as a minute passed and the angel didn't come back. Given his speed, that was worrisome. "Idjit angel. Call him to make sure he didn't get mojoed into forgetting why are we here again."

Sam nodded, already dialing the angel's phone.  Bobby couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something. Because yes, it sounded like a biblical plague, except that biblical plagues weren't so focused on one person. And he still had no idea why angels would care about three human cops in the middle of Pennsylvania.

Something didn't add up.

*             *             *

The Wiener Hut was exactly like every other grease filled, heart attack inducing place that Dean loved so much. That was Sam's first impression upon reading the menu, that didn't include pie, but had deep fried oreos as part of their dessert.

He could feel his arteries hardening just by standing there.

After Bobby had interrogated the manager, they had decided to wait for Cas there. The angel had not gotten confused again, but he was trying to pinpoint the origin of the angelic energy he could feel permeating the city, and he insisted it was better for him to do so away from any human. So while they waited for Castiel to arrive -through the door, they had been clear on that-they at least could eat. If  Sam could find at least one item on the menu that wasn't deep fried.  The idea of eating somewhere else was nixed by Bobby not because he thought the food there was any good, but because according to the manager, their three victims were regular costumers. If they had a common enemy, there was a big chance he or she was a regular too.

"So the dead guys were part of a group that came here regularly," Bobby explained taking his notes. "According to everyone here, they all are a part of  a nice group of people, dedicated to their job. Hatch and Grey got a promotion over a difficult case not long ago, and they came here to celebrate."

"What was the case?" Sam asked at the same time as the waiter came to their table to take their order. Once he had left,  Sam continued. "Could that have gotten them any enemies?"

"Enemies with access to heaven's wrath?" Bobby raised his eyebrow. "That sounds very unlikely. It was a robbery, where unfortunately the perp ended up dead after taking a couple of hostages. Hatch had to shoot him."

"That does sound like something that would create him a few enemies," Sam pointed out as he looked at the kitchen. For a fast food joint, this place was very slow. "Who was the perp?"

" A kid named Christopher Birch," Bobby handed him his notes. "Can you find him on your computer?"

Sam was going to answer, when finally the waiter put the sandwiches they had asked for in front of them. Only that instead of the gangly, brown haired kid that had taken their orders, now they were served by a blonde girl who reminded him a little bit of Meg's first vessel. Reminded him enough as to put him on his guard.

"Where's the other waiter?"

"Who? Alfie?" the girl smiled at him. "He had a family emergency. You know how it is. And anyway, you should talk to his brother, if you want to know about Chris. He worked with him at the garage  and took Chris's death really hard."

"A partner in crime?" Sam asked, smiling at her. Now that he thought about it, the other waiter had been a bit too nervous around them. "Was he  a witness?"

"Dean? Dean Derringer? You have got  to be kidding. That guy is up for sainthood in this neighborhood!" The girl, Marion according to her name tag, grinned. "That's the thing, see? Dean is a volunteer at the local youth center, and Chris was one of his kids so he was devastated when it happened."

"Dean?" Sam frowned hearing the name. Of course, it had to be some other Dean. There had to be  thousands in the United States alone. But hearing that name, in the same town where Castiel couldn't remember if he had seen Dean or not, was enough to make Sam suspicious.

"Yep, Alfie's brother," Marion continued, with a very similar tone of voice to the one Becky got when she talked about Sam, which told Sam that he was going to hear everything wonderful about _this_ Dean, whether he wanted to or not. However, the bell at the door rang interrupting her."Oh, speak of the devil. Hi Dean! Alfie just left to meet you at the shop. Didn't he text you?"

Sam turned around to see the new comer, imagining maybe a slightly older version of their original waiter. However, all logical thinking left his brain as soon as he saw the man standing at the door.

"Balls!" Bobby seemed to agree. Because the man who had just come in, looking at all the clients in the restaurant as if he was looking for someone,  gesturing with his hands at the guy behind the register,  was none other than  Dean. Dean, his brother,  looking perfectly fine, as if he had been taking a vacation while every one of their friends was going insane looking for him.

Part of Sam wanted to be furious, wanted to yell at Dean for having worried them so much for the past month and a half. But the relief at seeing Dean alive and well won over that anger and he rushed to hug his brother, just to reassure himself that Dean was really there.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Castiel have found Dean... but things are not going to go easy for them as many other angels are keeping watch on the city of Easter.

 Dean Derringer always knew that life wasn't fair.

Since he was four years old, when the doctor had told him that he would never speak again, he had known that sometimes, life just didn't go his way. It had been hammered further when he had been the only one able to take care of his brother, pretending that his father wasn't a drunken mess so child services wouldn't take Alfie away from him.

And now, when he had head that finally some feds were willing to look into Chris's death... apparently one of the feds was insane.

He had barely had the chance to say hello to Mitch when he heard someone call his name. As he turned around, a huge guy, almost a human moose, had come towards him, grabbing him in a bone crunching hug, not letting him go.

It took Dean at least three pushes before he managed to get the mammoth to let him go, and he immediately asked what the hell was his problem. But the agent  -who, as if it wasn't enough that he was completely insane, also had hair so long that it _had_ to be against regulations- just kept talking, not even looking at Dean's hands. 

"Where the hell have you been?" the agent was saying, still getting into Dean's personal space. "We went to look for you at Lisa's! Cas and Gabriel have  gone everywhere in the world and you... you were here?! Why didn't you call Bobby?"

Seeing that agent Disney Princess was not paying attention to him, Dean turned to the other agent, the older one who was looking at him as if he had grown a second head. 

**_What the hell is wrong with this guy?_ **

"What the hell is wrong with him, Bobby?" the agent asked at the same time, finally clueing in that Dean had no idea what he was talking about.

"I don't know, boy," the older agent, Bobby, said, but he seemed to be paying attention to what Dean was signing, so that was a bit better. "I don't think he recognizes us."

**_I've never seen you in my life_** _,_ Dean signed slowly, just to check if the agent understood him and realized that he actually could hear them. **_Who the fuck are you?_**

***             *             ***

Sam was starting to lose his patience. Dean was there, but he wasn't quite there. As soon as he had hugged his brother, Sam knew he had made a mistake. After all, his brother had never been a fan of physical shows of affection even under the best of circumstances. But instead of just getting away, and maybe punching Sam for being out of hell when he shouldn't be, Dean had started gesturing wildly,  not even uttering a word.

"Dean, this are the agents Cash and Denver. They were asking about Officer Hatch..." Marion choose that moment to interrupt, although now she was looking at Sam with a  weary expression, rather than the slightly flirty look that she had given him when they arrived.   "... although they're a little weird."

Dean glared at them,  still moving his hands and not speaking. It was odd for Sam to see him like that, since he had never known his brother for being quiet. Even when they were alone in the Impala, Dean would sing along to his tapes to fill the air with _something._

"No, Alfie is not here," Marion answered the question that Dean hadn't asked. "And I have no idea what this guy's problem is. They said they were FBI agents..."

"I'm sorry for my partner's reaction," Bobby said quickly, also moving his hands just as Dean was doing. It finally dawned on Sam that it was sign language. "His brother went missing two months ago, and you look exactly like he did."

Dean's glare lessened a bit, and he started moving his hands again, this time gesturing in Bobby's direction. It went for a full minute before Bobby raised his hands in defeat.

"I'm going to have to ask you to slow down, boy, my ASL is rusty," Bobby said, and that made Dean roll his eyes, before pointing at Marion , at himself, and then at the door, before launching into another long spiel of signing. At least Marion seemed to understand clearly.

"Dean says that you have to follow him," Marion translated. "My boss doesn't like him talking bad about the cops, and he doesn't want to get Alfie in trouble. And he's sorry for your brother but he doesn't want you touching him again."

"Fair enough," Sam said, raising his hands in the usual way that placated Dean when he got angry at him.  He waited until Dean was out of the door to look at Bobby, but the other man shook his head. It was not the time to make questions yet.

Outside, Dean was standing next to a 1971 green Buick Riviera. It was a nice car, but it wasn't the Impala.  He signed something to Bobby, very slowly and deliberately, and Sam got the feeling that that was the ASL version of speaking slowly  and loudly to someone who didn't speak the language.

"We have a car, we can follow you," Bobby answered to the question that Sam didn't understood. It was starting to get in his nerves, not to hear half of the conversation. Not to mention that he still was reeling from the fact that this was Dean, his brother DEAN, treating him like a hostile stranger. Things weren't adding up and he needed to talk to Bobby and Cas as soon as he was sure Dean couldn't hear them.

*             *             *

Castiel was finishing a last sweep of the city when he felt a familiar presence near him. Getting his sword ready, he followed the trail to a small park, not that far away from where he had left Sam and Bobby.

"Hello, Charoun," Castiel greeted, as soon as he saw his brother's vessel materialize. Charon's vessel was shorter but bulkier than Jimmy, and was dressed in the same fashion as all  Castiel's brother preferred, what Dean had once called the 'Angels in Black' look. He didn't look threatening, but as Castiel still didn't know how many of his brothers and sisters had decided to side with Raphael and how many had realized that their Father wanted them to learn to love humanity, rather than follow orders just because.

"Castiel, you shouldn't be here," Charoun said gravely. It didn't made Castiel feel safer, or more confident that he wouldn't be attacked. To the contrary, it made him be absolutely sure that if he did one wrong move, Charoun would try and smite him. "Raphael is not pleased with you,brother."

"I don't care what Raphael thinks," Castiel answered, at the same time he mentally started to figure out a battle plan that wouldn't hurt humans and wouldn't take him out of Easter. He had the feeling that if he did, he would forget that Sam and Bobby were waiting for him. "You shouldn't either."

"With Michael unjustly trapped, Raphael is the last of our brothers who can give us Father's orders," Charoun said, still not moving, Castiel adjusted his grip on his sword, still hidden in the same space between atoms where most of his true form was. While he didn't doubt that Charoun could see it, he was not going to attack first. "You are disobeying our Father's Will, Brother. You are not better than Lucifer."

"Is that what you believe, brother?" Castiel now was sure that he wouldn't be able to avoid the confrontation, so he pulled out his sword. He was confident he could best Charoun on hand to hand combat, but he had to be fast in order to stop his brother from contacting others. Even more important, he needed to get information. There had to be a reason why Charoun was stationed there. "Raphael believes our Father is dead. Isn't that heresy too?"

Charoun smiled, pulling out his own sword. "Even if Father is dead, we are still following his orders. Disobedience is the real crime, brother."

Castiel didn't answer, choosing to attack. The faster he dealt with his brother, the faster he could go back to search for Dean.

A battle between Angels was something that a human mind couldn't comprehend.  It was a battle through dimensions, through time and space. But fortunately for Castiel, that was only when they were in their true forms. Inside vessels, it took time to get used to fight in just one dimension, with just two arms, one head. Unlike his brothers, Castiel had spend the last two years inside his vessel, never leaving Jimmy except for when Zachariah had forced him out for 'rehabilitation', so he had far more experience fighting in the human plane. Charoun was not used to his vessel, and while Castiel  hesitated for a second, thinking about the poor man who had consented for his body to be used as a weapon of the Lord, at the end that experience gave him the upper hand.

"If you kill me, you will destroy this town!"

Castiel held his sword, just as he was about to stab his brother's chest.

"What do you mean?"

"As it stands, silence is the only protection these mortals have." Charoun answered, still smiling, despite being hurt. His vessel was bleeding profusely, and there were bits of grace spilling out. He was defeated, and yet, he looked triumphant. That was what made Castiel stop.  That Charoun looked as if he wanted to be killed.

"What did you do?!" Castiel repeated. He was also bleeding, but it wasn't a serious injury. He could heal it easily, once Charoun was dealt with.

"If you are here, you will find out soon enough," Charon smiled, and then, before Castiel could stop him, he left his vessel, leaving Castiel to face a very scared man to calm down.

*             *             *

"There are angels in this town," Cas announced,  as he appeared on the back of Bobby's car, surprising Sam. "I'm afraid there might be a Weapon of Heaven here. Probably the Staff of Moses, although that wouldn't account for the small scope of the effects."

"We found Dean," Sam interrupted. While a weapon of Heaven on Earth sounded like bad news, he was far more interested in his brother. After they figured out what was wrong with Dean, then they could worry about the dick angels and whatever they were doing.

"We sort of found Dean," Bobby corrected. Which was, Sam guessed, sort of true. They had found Dean's body, he wasn't so sure about Dean's mind. "He didn't recognize us."

"Dean has amnesia?" Cas frowned, confused. "Did he have an accident?"

"We don't know," Sam shook his head. "If he got in an accident, it had to be right after he left Bobby, but he didn't look to have any scars. "

"I'm sure it's not normal. I could buy him not remembering anyone and creating a new life," Bobby said. "But that doesn't explain why he's  suddenly fluent in ASL."

"I'm confused, if you found Dean, why is he not with you?" Sam knew that Cas was not judging them for not having Dean with them, but it sounded close to it to Sam. And that made him angry at the angel. Because HE couldn't have protected Dean since was in hell, and Dean would never let Bobby protect him. But Cas? He was the one who promised Sam he would protect Dean. He was the incredibly powerful angel. He shouldn't have left Dean alone.

"Because he thinks Sam is a crazy FBI agent who confused him with his long lost brother," Bobby explained, saving Sam the trouble of trying to make the angel understand that probably everything was his fault. "And we still don't know what's going on. You said that there were angels in town?"

"My brother Charoun threatened me. He made it clear that he was siding with Raphael. And they were keeping something important here in Easter. Something that he is protecting."

"Raphael? The one you trust to keep Chuck safe? The one who according to Chuck's notes is leading angels to bring the apocalypse back on track?!"

"Raphael believes that he's following Father's orders," Castiel tried to explain.  "But he will fail. He can't reopen Lucifer's cage."

"Are we sure of that?" Sam shook his head. "I mean, **I** 'm out. What if Raphael finds the way to get Lucifer or Michael out?"

"Even if Lucifer gets out, you won't accept to be his vessel again,  will you?" Castiel raised his tone, just a little. But enough for Sam to realize that the angel was getting angry.  "Without his true vessel, Lucifer cannot fight Michael, not even if Michael still could use your brother Adam."

"We're not discussing that right now," Bobby interrupted them, stopping the car behind Dean's Riviera. "Not a word about angels, or the apocalypse. We need to figure out what killed those cops, and then what exactly happened to Dean. But we're not going to have the chance to do that if he is convinced we're a bunch of psychos."

*             *             *

Dean stopped right in front of his apartment, wondering exactly what the hell he was doing.  He wanted to get Chris's name cleaned, of course, but with three of the involved officers dead, he wasn't sure that it was a good idea to bring more attention to the case. More important, the two agents were making him nervous, especially the tall one.

Before leaving the car, he sent a message to his brother. Alfie  had been acting strange for a week or so, and Dean was starting to get worried. Everyone at the garage assured him that Alfie proably just had a girlfriend, Dean couldn't stop himself from worrying. So he asked Alfie to stay away from the apartment until the FBI agents left, because if Hatch's surviving goons decided to silence anyone, it would be better if Alfie wasn't involved.

His nerves around the FBI agents didn't improve when he realized that there were now three of them. The third man was shorter than Dean, and, instead of dressed like the other two, looked like an accountant who hadn't had much sleep. Even worse, he kept staring at Dean, making him feel like a bug under a microscope. It reminded him of Hester, the nurse at his doctor's office, only that Hester never made him feel like staring back.

Because the guy also looked familiar. Dean couldn't pinpoint from where, but he was sure he knew the third agent. He also had the strongest urge to go and fix  the agent's tie and straighten his trench coat collar.

Trying to keep his hands to himself, he focused on the older agent, the only one who seemed to understand ASL, while also keeping a vigilant eye on the other one, the one who had hugged him, just in case. He tried not to be paranoid, but he still had a scar on his arm from the last time that he had  not trusted his gut.

**_I've got the evidence you guys need about Hatch and his scum friends in my apartment_** _,_ Dean signed slowly, just to make sure that the old man understood clearly. Only then he realized he had not asked for the names of the agents and almost kicked himself for that. He was so eager to get Chris's exonerated that he had totally threw his usual caution to the winds. **_He's with you?_**

"I'm agent Moscone, I'm working with agents Cash and Denver in this case," the man with blue eyes said, not even blinking as he offered him his hand. And Dean, who usually hated to touch people, automatically raised his hand to shake it. As their hands touched, he felt a shock, as if he had licked a battery. It was so sudden that he had to remind himself to let go of Moscone's hand in order to keep signing.

*             *             *

The moment Dean looked at Cas, Sam wanted to groan. Because while his brother still looked at him and Bobby with suspicion, especially after Sam's ill attempted hug, and was treating them as complete strangers... as soon as the angel got in his line of view, Dean was staring back as if there was nothing else in the universe except both of them. And Castiel was equally bad, always staring at his brother, as if he could understand mankind just by watching Dean.

Once that Castiel introduced himself -and later Sam was going to ask him where the hell he got his alias- Dean took a moment before starting to sign again. Any hope that Bobby would remember that he didn't speak ASL flew through the window in the moment Sam realized that of course Castiel would understand sign language, and of course he would not think to translate it for him.  So once again, Sam was only listening to half the conversation, looking at his brother treat him as a complete stranger.

However, this gave him the advantage that he could actually look at his brother and try to figure out what had happened in the last month and a half. Because there had to be clues. There had to be something that could tell him why his brother was acting the way he was. It was not as if he was a completely different person. He definitively wasn't acting as if a Siren had gotten hold of him.

Sam was sure that there was something he was forgetting, and  so, he just kept watching his brother as he moved his hands giving Bobby and Cas information about their strange case.

They went into the building, with Dean taking the lead.  Sam hoped that 'Alfie' the kid that had been their waiter was home. At the Weiner hut, he hadn't paid any attention to the kid, to be honest, Sam never paid attention to their waiters in the different places where they ate, but now that he knew that he was connected to Dean, he wanted to see him. He wanted to check what kind of creature was controlling Dean. Or, he admitted, see if the kid was also human and thus, another victim of whatever had a hold on his older brother.

"Hey, Dean!" A kid, no older than 16, came running down the stairs, almost bumping into Dean. To Sam's surprise, Dean smiled, and then signed something very carefully. This, Sam could almost understand, as his brother mimicked throwing a basketball among all the other movements that Sam didn't get. "Yeah, sure! I'll be there at 5:00! See ya!"

"One of your youth center kids?" Sam asked, remembering what Marion had told them about Dean before Dean came into the Weiner Hut.

Dean brought up his right hand in a fist, knocking on thin air. As Sam raised his eyebrows, confused, Dean sighed and nodded, before continuing up to the next floor, still signing more things to Bobby.  Which was another thing. Maybe his brother hadn't picked it up the language recently, more than once Dean had surprised Sam with knowledge that he had no idea his brother had.

"That's the dead kid brother," Bobby explained to him as they followed Dean into his apartment. "Dean has been counseling him since the death of his brother."

Sam couldn't stop the groan coming from his throat, that earned him a glare from Dean.  But since Dean had once sold his soul because he didn't want Sam to stay dead, for him it was a bit absurd to imagine his brother counseling anyone about how to deal with the grief of losing a loved one.

Not that he would be much better. Sam had to admit that he wasn't very good at letting go either. After all, he had also tried to exchange his soul for his brother's. 

Winchesters weren't very good at letting go, he guessed. One more thing that was wrong with Dean here.

*             *             *

Dean's apartment was pretty much how Bobby imagined a place owned by Dean would look, if the boy could ever have put roots somewhere instead of just living on the back of his car.  There was a jacket thrown on top of a sofa that had probably been bought from Goodwill, car magazines strewn over almost every single surface of the room, and  very few books on the shelves.  There were three closed doors, which Bobby guessed where Dean and his brother's bedrooms and probably the bathroom, as well as an open kitchen. It was small, but it didn't look as if they had only lived there for two months. It looked lived in.

And with the boy being incredibly fluent in ASL, Bobby was starting to think that maybe this Dean wasn't really Dean. Maybe it was an illusion created by the angels to keep them there, away from the real thing they were protecting. At least, that was the theory until Dean got to see Castiel. In that moment, all doubts fled Bobby's mind. As incredible as it was, the mute Dean Derringer had to be Dean Winchester.

As Bobby  tried to remember everything that he had ever learned about ASL, he kept a close eye on Sam. It was obvious that the boy was not happy that Dean had seemingly recognized Castiel and not them. Because Dean had recognized the angel, there was no doubt about it.

"Exactly what happened between the dead officers and this kid?" he asked Dean, trying to keep himself on track. The truth was that he was sure that they were no longer that invested in the exploding cops, but there was still work to do.

**_Haven't you read the report?_** Dean signed, frowning. It was obvious that he was starting to have his suspicions about them, because their actions hadn't been very consistent with FBI Agents. But then, they had spent more time with him than with any witnesses in their usual cases, of course they were making mistakes.

"We want to hear it from you," Bobby insisted. He still had no idea what had happened, but they needed to figure out who had grudges against the dead guys in order to figure out what was going on.

Dean shook his head, probably annoyed at the possibility of Bobby not understanding everything, and then he walked into one of the rooms. Before Bobby could remind both Sam and Castiel that they had to focus in the case and not in Dean, he came back with a huge folder, filled with newspapers clippings.

**_That's all I have,_** Dean signed as soon as Bobby grabbed the file. He read through it quickly, before passing it to Sam. The story was depressingly common:  A convenience store had been robbed, police was dispatched. Christopher Birch had resisted arrest and shoot at Officer Hatch, but had been killed when the police tried to subdue him. There were no witness to the shooting, except for Gray, Colfax, and a fourth officer named Grant.

Besides that, Dean had also included a lot of clippings on Hatch, Gray, Colfax and Grant, about suspicious arrests and their work, that seemed less than stellar.  Birch's school grades, which were very high. Bobby had to admit that it was possible that the kid had been unjustly killed.

Unfortunately, the sheer quantity of research made Dean look like the main person who would like those officers dead. Sam seemed to agree with that idea, since he put away the folder almost immediately.

"So, you were pretty angry at this guys," Sam said, carefully. "And pretty protective of the victim. Protective enough to do something drastic?"

Bobby almost slapped Sam right there. While it was true that they had lost a lot of practice about talking to witnesses to the supernatural in the past year, Bobby knew Sam was better at subtlety. As it stood, he was practically accusing Dean of killing the cops himself.

And Dean, amnesic or not, had noticed.

**_I don't like that implication,_** Dean signed, his face completely closed. **_I wanted to talk to you because those three men were scumbags who killed an innocent teenager, not so you could find another scapegoat for the press._**

_"_ So you know what happened to the three officers you are accusing? Someone killed them," Sam pressed, as soon as Bobby translated what Dean had said. "That's what we're here to investigate and we'd appreciate if you..."

**_Get out,_** Dean signed angrily. The meaning was so clear that Bobby didn't even need to translate. **_If you're only here for those scumbags, I have nothing to tell you. GET OUT!_**

*             *             *

Sam could've kicked himself as soon as the words left his mouth. He used to be much better at interrogating people, before Dean died the first time. But after that, he had just stopped caring.  Oh, he still could do it, but not when he was worried about something else. And this time? He cared far more about what the hell was wrong with Dean that about three guys who had died from obvious witchcraft.

But he hadn't stopped to think, and now his brother was furious at him again and they were out of his apartment, where they could pick any number of clues of what the hell had been wrong with him.

"I'm sorry," he said, as soon as they were out of the building. Neither Bobby or Cas seemed to blame him, but Sam still needed to apologize. "I jumped the gun at the thought that Dean is the only person we have seen so far with a clear grudge against the victims."

"There were traces of angelic energy in that apartment," Castiel said, either not understanding why Sam needed to apologize, or not caring about it. "Dean has been in contact with more than one of my brothers."

"Do you think it is connected to the dead cops?" Sam asked suddenly worried. "Do you think something is going to happen to him?"

"I don't know if it is connected, but while I was away I remembered something," Castiel explained, walking towards Bobby's car. "You said that the three deaths were similar to the plagues of Egypt, Sam. There's only one weapon in the world that could cause that."

"And what is it?" Bobby asked, standing next to the driver's door. They probably would end up going back to the motel where they were staying, since they had absolutely no clues to go on.

"The same thing that caused the first plagues. The Staff of Moses. Although it's effects seem to have diminished, since it originally could destroy a whole city."

"Let's hope it doesn't escalate that fast," Bobby said. "So, one of your dick brothers brought it here just to fuck up with us?"

"I don't know," Castiel answered honestly. "I heard rumors that some of the weapons of heaven had been stolen during the fight to save the Seals, but I couldn't confirm it. And if I leave for heaven now..."

"Who knows if you'd remember to get back," Sam finished for Castiel, feeling useless. "Well, at least we know what could cause a man to liquefy and thanks to Dean we have a possible fourth victim. I say we go and talk to officer Grant."

*             *             *

Dean watched as the so called FBI agents left in their car, hidden behind the curtains of his window. He hadn't liked them from the moment "Denver" had hugged him, and while he was sure he had seen "Moscone" somewhere, he still didn't trust them. After all, it wasn't as if he didn't know that they had given him fake names. Because Cash, Denver and Moscone were obviously not their real names.

For the way they talked about plagues, heaven and Moses, he would peg them as religous fanatics, even if they didn't look the part.  But one thing was sure for him: Whoever they were, they cared more about the dead cops than about the lives said cops had destroyed. And they might know what was really going on.

Dean wasn't a superstitious man, but he wasn't  a fool. He had heard Calfex talk about how Hatch had died, turning into blood in front of his eyes, and had seen Gray's body, all covered in boils when his boss had asked him to go and tow the police car from where Gray had died. Those weren't natural deaths. There was something strange there and Dean had researched that too.

He hadn't liked what he had come up with.

His cellphone vibrated, signaling an incoming message and Dean  sighed before checking it. It seemed that his brother had finally remembered that he was supposed to tell Dean that he had left his job early.

" _Hi, Dean. I just wanted to tell you I'm with my friend Rachel. She had a problem with an assignment at school and I promised to help. Don't worry, I'll be back for dinner."_

_"You better be, or I'll go and drag you out of her house,"_ Dean texted back, feeling a bit easier. Of all of Alfie's friends, he liked Rachel the least. She was one of her classmates, and for some reason always looked at Dean as if he wasn't worthy of licking her shoes clean. No matter what he did, she seemed to dislike him more. Until the feeling was mutual.

Assured that his brother was not going to be looking for him if he disappeared for a few hours, Dean put on his jacket and left the apartment. During the research he had made, he had come across a couple of sites that swore up and down that witchcraft existed, that it was possible to kill your enemies at a distance _for a price_.  It had seemed stupid, when it had only been Hatch, but after Colfax died with a bunch of insects hatching on his skull, Dean had been a bit more open to the possibility. And he knew exactly who would have paid such price.

So he had to reach him before he killed again. And then help him to get out of whatever deal he had made just to avenge his brother.

*             *             *

Officer Grant was nervous. Everything had gotten out of control since the Birch kid's death. At first, he had thought that they would get away with it. IT had been an accident.  Hatch had honestly believed that Birch was carrying a gun. An honest mistake that shouldn't have cost Hatch his badge, so Grant had agreed with Colfax and Grey to keep it silent when they planted the gun. But then the thing with Hatch had happened, and then Grey and Grant hadn't been able to deny that God himself was punishing them.

And Grant had been  fine with the idea of his impending death. Unlike  the others, he had the chance to put his will in order, even make arrangements to say goodbye to his family without making them worry. But then the FBI had come to talk to him, and he realized that perhaps the punishment wasn't that heavenly. The Agents keep asking them about HAtch, and if they had any enemies in common. And then agent Denver had mentioned the Derringer guy, who had been coming over to the station, demanding that they reopened the Birch case just because he was one of his 'project' kids. Everyone knew that those kids would end up in jail anyway, everyone except Derringer who was a pain in the ass and who had put the FBI on his tail.

Grant was not going to let an investigation put all his pension on hold just because an idiot mute mechanic with nothing but a GDA to his name had a chip on his shoulder. He was going to get rid of Derringer, and then wait for whatever God had decided as his punishment.

He was lucky, as he didn't have to go far. Derringer was coming into the station, singing quickly to the poor shmuck that had gotten the short straw and got the reception desk duty.

"Derringer!" Grant yelled, calling the attention of the mute mechanic. "You want to talk about the case, come here."

Derringer glared at him, but he still followed him to one of the interrogation rooms. Grant smiled. He was going to figure out if Derringer had something to do with the deaths of his friends, and then make sure that he was arrested and then he would not only be alive, but also, a hero.

He just had to make sure that he didn't leave any marks on Derringer when he roughed him up.

When they got in the interrogation room, however,  Dean sat immediately and started writing.

"You're in danger." The note said, making  Grant laugh internally. That was perfect, to have an actual threat in the handwriting of the suspect. "You've got to go away from Easter."

"So whatever you did to my friends can catch up with me?" Grant asked. He couldn't turn on his recorder, because this was not an official interrogation, but at the very least, he could make Derringer write everything.

But he didn't got to see what Derringer was writing. The room started shaking, and the wall grew brighter, almost enough to blind him.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the plagues attack Easter, Sam, Bobby and Castiel find out more about Dean's situation.

"There's an angel in the precinct," Castiel said suddenly, as Sam and Bobby were discussing the possibility of stalking Grant until they found  who had set the people against them. Sam knew that their best lead was Dean, but Bobby insisted that trying to approach him at that moment would only make Dean withdraw more. Especially as they had no idea what was wrong with him.

"We've got to get there," Sam overrode whatever Bobby was going to say. If Dean had been harassing the officers that meant that they had his address. And as their experience with the street evangelist had proven, even if Dean was invisible to Angels, other humans could still point  him to the dick feather brigade. "Cas, can you...?"

Sam didn't even finish the sentence before Bobby, Cas and himself appeared inside the precinct, in an empty viewing room. On the other side of the two way mirror, Sam could see Dean  on the floor, as a tall ginger guy who looked like a linebacker brandishing an angel sword over the dead body of officer Grant.

"Which plague is this, Cas?" Sam asked, trying to remember which one of the plagues involved an actual angel coming down from heaven, trying to think if his brother was in danger, or if this was going to be like all the other times, when the only one dead was the original target of whoever was causing this. At the same time that he wished that this was not proof that his **brother** was the one who had summoned the angel.

"The death of the city's first born children,"  Castiel said, pulling out his own sword, just as the angel  turned around to threaten Dean.

*             *             *

Kutiel kept himself away from heaven politics. His mission was always clear. He, like Uriel, was to walk the earth when the wrath of God was invoked. Like Raphael, he answered only to a prophet, most specifically, to Moses. Even if the Prophet had been raised to Heaven centuries ago, the staff still had the power to summon him with the sole purpose of killing those who were the first ones in their bloodlines.

The first human, the one dressed in blue, had tried to shoot him with one of his primitive guns, while the other was still reeling on the surprise of seeing Kutiel appear in front of them. In the ancient times, Kutiel wouldn't have bothered with a vessel, just letting his presence smite those who had incurred in the wrath of God, but after Zachariah's death, Raphael had been clear on the fact that no Angel could descend to Earth without taking a vessel.

Raphael was keeping something valuable in the city and he didn't want any demon or one of the rebels who didn't want to bring Paradise to Earth to know about it.

Kutiel would've just disappeared, but then he sensed something in the other human. It was also a first born, and thus, his mission was clear. Both humans had to die.

Kutiel raised his sword, and was surprised when the human, instead of remain frozen with fear, actually tried to defend himself, hitting him.  What was even more surprising was that Kutiel actually feel the punch. It wasn't painful, it was barely noticeable, but the fact that this mud monkey had been able to make him _feel_ the impact was enough to make Kutiel stumble.

No mere mortal could make an angel stumble.

Kutiel dropped his sword to the floor and tried to grab the mortal's neck. He was going to smite this first born, make him regret having touching him before sending him to the eternal garden. For the first time in his existence, Kutiel was angry.

The mortal, however, moved too fast for Kutiel. It was a human who knew how to fight. Kuriel turned around, furious that a human was causing him so much trouble when the two sided mirror that separated them from the other room.

More humans were there, accompanied by Castiel, one of the rebels. The tall, younger human, was of no consequence. But the older man was also a first born. First, Kutiel would take care of Castiel, and then, when the only threat to him was vanquished, he would deal with the two humans.

He maneuvered to get his sword back, only to find that the first born that he still couldn't kill had grabbed it. A small annoyance that wouldn't save his life, but in fact, make it shorter.  Kutiel needed his sword to fight Castiel, and the human presented no real threat with it.  Avoiding Castiel's attacks, he jumped the table in the middle of the room to reach the human, who, almost mirroring Castiel, attacked him with the sword.

Kutiel had one second to realize that he had made a huge miscalculation. There was something else in the first born before him. A sigil  had his true nature bound. But this close, it was impossible not to see.

This close, it was impossible for the first born to miss Kutiel's heart.

*             *             *

Sam barely had time to close his eyes when he saw Dean pierce the angel's heart. He just hoped that Bobby had the same fast thinking. And of course, he felt proud. His brother could be mute and amnesic, but he still was a hunter and he still could defend himself. The question of how he had managed to kill an angel was filed to the 'I don't want to think about this' part of Sam's brain that was getting quite huge since the day when Dean had managed to kill the Whore.

"Cas, get us out of here," Sam said, opening his eyes carefully. As he suspected, the angel that had killed Grant was on the floor, looking peaceful, surrounded by the burnt silhouette of two huge wings. "Before the other cops come here to investigate."

As soon as Sam and Bobby were at his reach, Cas touched Sam's shoulder and Dean's forehead. Sam knew that his brother hated this kind of transportation, but they were in short notice. And yes, part of him was aware that Dean had a life here, and people would wonder how two men ended up dead in a room where Dean had been with them, but at the moment he didn't care.

He just wanted his brother safe.

They landed on their motel room, and as soon as they were there, Dean scrambled away from Cas, still holding the angel blade he had gotten from the dead angel. As his hands were occupied, Dean couldn't sign, but Sam could read his expression well enough. It was an expression he had seen more than once in the witnesses they talked to when they saw the supernatural for the first time.

"We can explain," Sam said quickly,  showing his empty hands. "Just... put the sword down."

Dean glared at him, filled with mistrust. It hurt  Sam deeply, but he was trying not to show it. Later, when Dean regained his memories and his voice, they could talk about how lost Sam felt now. But he had to be there for his brother.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dean finally let go of the angel blade. Apparently, his need to ask questions was stronger than his mistrust, as he immediately started signing. Once again, Sam kicked himself for never thinking about learning ASL. They had never had a mute witness in all of their cases, but right now, he was the only one who couldn't communicate with his brother and it was getting old.

*             *             *

Bobby kept a wary eye on Sam, as they waited for Dean to calm down and put his weapon down. He still thought that the boy was hiding something about his return from hell. His temper had gotten out of control, and his patience with people outside a very, very small group, was non-existent.  And even before hell, Sam had never taken being out of the loop lightly. They really have to figure out how to fix Dean or at the very least, figure a way for him to understand his brother.

**_What the hell is going on? Who was that guy? I killed him! I didn't... I didn't want to kill him! What the hell happened?_ **

Dean was signing so fast, that Bobby figured he was having a panic attack. Not that he blamed the boy, since he apparently had been living a normal life.

"He was Kutiel, an angel," Castiel answered, with no emotion. Bobby tried not to groan. Of all the people who shouldn't be explaining the supernatural to a civilian, the feathered idjit was probably on top of the list. At the very least, he always sounded sincere, so Dean would only think they were insane, not that they were trying to con him.

 ** _There's no such thing as angels_** _,_  Dean signed, at the same time he scoffed. Strangely, that made Castiel smile.

"You always have had little faith, Dean," Castiel said. "Kutiel was called down by the staff of Moses in order to kill the officers that killed Christopher Birch. We came here to retrieve the staff and assure that no innocents will be harmed by it."

Dean looked at them,  as if he was trying to make a choice. Probably deciding if they were trustworthy or not.

 ** _Is.... Is the staff dangerous to the one who uses it?_**  Dean finally signed, looking defeated. It convinced Bobby more that Dean had a very good idea of what was happening in Easter, even if he pretended not to. Unfortunately, his body language was still familiar to Sam and, without understanding ASL, the boy jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"What kind of deal did you make, Dean?"  Sam  yelled, making Dean step back. After all, Sam was imposing when he wanted. "Is this why you don't remember us?"

 ** _What are you talking about? I don't know you and I didn't make any deals!_** Dean signed angrily, waiting for Bobby to translate.

"He's telling the truth," Castiel said, narrowing his eyes at Dean, as if he was seeing something that they didn't. "There's angelic energy around him, but not enough to mark him as the one who used the staff."

 "So, who else had any motive to kill those officers?" Sam asked, subdued. Apparently, he hadn't liked that Dean was afraid of him. "You know?"

 ** _You have to promise you won't hurt him,_** Dean signed quickly.   ** _And after... you're going to explain what the hell you mean with 'angel energy' around me._**

*             *             *

Aaron Birch had made a deal with an angel to avenge his brother. Sam could completely understand the kid, because at the moment he was ready to make a deal with whoever gave him Dean back as he was before his trip to hell.

However, the idea that now angels were making deals with humans was sickening. Because if now Angels were willing to trade with souls, there was no much difference between them and Demons, in Sam's book.

Only monsters dealt with souls.

Finding the specific angel who was poaching in Crowley's territory had been a bit harder.  Aaron insisted that he didn't know who the Angel was. Offered to describe him, but given the way in which Angels changed vessels, that meant nothing to them.

"Is there any way to figure out who gave him the staff?" Sam asked Castiel.  He guessed that if things got too complicated they could call Gabriel, but Sam figured they didn't need that much attention from the angelic brigade. The Archangel had made it very clear that he didn't want his brothers to know he was alive.

"A deal creates a mark on the human soul," Castiel explained, but he didn't move closer to the chair where Aaron was sitting, looking scared. Dean had positioned himself between the kid and them, protecting him. And again, that hurt Sam horribly because not long ago, he had been mentally complaining that Dean did that for him. "Each angel has a very specific mark. It's possible to read the mark and find the name of the angel that bought his soul."

Dean gestured quickly, a movement that Sam figured meant 'how' since Castiel kept explaining even as Sam wished that the angel would just stop. Or lie. But as far as he knew, Cas was incapable of lying to Dean.

"Well, painfully for him. The reading will be excruciating, even if I try to be fast."

That was obviously the wrong thing to say, as Dean's features clouded immediately as he moved to keep Aaron as far from the angel as was humanly possible in the small room. He kept signing, to Cas, to Bobby, and completely ignoring Sam as he had realized that Sam had no idea what those movements meant.

Not that Sam couldn't guess that Dean was completely against the possibility of torturing a kid to get an answer. Sam agreed in principle, not only because it was an innocent kid who had made a shitty choice, but because he didn't want to think about the fact that it opened an option to figure out if Dean had also made a deal to get him out of hell.

No one was going to torture Dean on Sam's watch... ever again.

Dean kept signing, now obviously at the kid, who had the decency to look chastised. At the very least, he seemed aware that he had done something really bad.

"He said his name was easy to guess," Aaron said, so softly that Sam almost missed it. "That every Epiphany, he got prayed on to help children. That's why he heard my prayer."

"That can't be," Sam turned to look at Castiel, who had gone pale as he spoke. Apparently, the angel who had created the whole mess was toying with them, leaving clues as if it was a game. If it wasn't because Gabriel was supposed to be on their side, Sam would've accused the archangel of being behind everything. "I thought he died in the war."

"Is this angel a friend of yours?" Bobby was frowning, looking at the kid. Sam still didn't know who was the angel in question, but he was willing to trust Castiel's judgment. Since angels had unique names, and Aaron had mentioned the Epiphany, it could only be one of three.

"He... used to be," Castiel answered, sadly. "At least, I thought he was."

"How can we find him?" Sam asked, at the same time Dean signed something.

"I know a spell," Castiel explained, as Dean turned to glare at Sam. Apparently they had asked the same thing at the same time.

Sam couldn't fight the smile that formed on his face. At least somethings hadn't changed.

*             *             *

Balthazar was alive.

Castiel still couldn't believe it, not even as he entered the opulent mansion at the edge of the town. He remembered clearly when Uriel had given him the news, that Balthazar had been one of the many angels fallen to the unseen assassin that was destroying their garrison, the pain he had felt at knowing that his brother was no more.  

(The fact that later Uriel had been revealed as the assassin had made the pain even worse. It was the first moment when Castiel thought about going against his orders, because he couldn't understand how following their Father's will could bring so much destruction to his brothers)

He had insisted on coming alone, against Sam and Bobby's complains. Even Dean seemed to be unconvinced, as he wanted to make sure that Balthazar took off his mark from Aaron's soul. It was strange to see Dean accepting so easily that the supernatural existed, but Castiel guessed it was the part of his old memories that whatever that had robbed Dean of his past couldn't erase.

Balthazar was expecting him. He was comfortable on his vessel, a tall blonde man wearing a black jacket and a gray v-neck shirt. He looked almost human, happy, unlike their other brothers who always seemed to fit a bit uncomfortably in their own vessels. As if they couldn't wait to leave the human body behind.

Castiel himself was still not completely comfortable inside Jimmy's body. In contrast, Balthazar almost seemed to have been born human. Almost like Gabriel.

"Cas. You took your time to find me."

"Balthazar," Castiel fought his instinct to pull out his blade. Balthazar hadn't attacked him so far, so he hoped their meeting wouldn't end in violence. "I  grieved your death, brother."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that but... well," Balthazar shrugged, as if Castiel's suffering was nothing important. "I needed everyone to think I was dead. I had no idea who was on Uriel's side, you know? And I needed to be sure that no one would come looking for me."

"Yet, you stole the Staff of Moses. You're dealing with human souls."

"Not really," Balthazar's smile grew wider as he touched his forehead. "The kid's debt is erased. I just needed him to send a big enough signal so you and the hairless apes would get a clue."

Castiel frowned. "What do you mean?"

"What? You think I missed the fact that Michael's Vessel is in town without any memory of being Michael's Vessel?" Balthazar raised an eyebrow, making Castiel feel confused. "I've been flying incognito for a year now, in this little corner of America. And then suddenly, I've got at least ten of our brothers making a perimeter around the city, flying in an out every day... but none of them were interested in little old me. So... I had to investigate a little and imagine my surprise when I saw our brother's meat suit walking around without you perched on his shoulder."

"I don't perch..." Castiel started to say, when Balthazar raised his hand.

"Look, Cassie, don't. Even before I decided to run away and give myself a holiday, I could tell that you didn't approve of Zachariah's plan for the Righteous Man. So if you weren't here, and _Michael_ isn't here... I figured something must be wrong."

"Michael is trapped in Hell with Lucifer," Castiel explained.

"Is he? Then why someone has at least ten angels permanently stationed to keep an eye on this human? Without Michael, the vessel is worthless to heaven. And yet... you can feel it around him. He's covered from head to toe in angel grace. Aren't you dying to know why?"

*             *             *

Dean was getting anxious. Once that the angel had figured out who had bought Aaron's soul, he had insisted on making a spell and then disappeared from Dean's apartment. Literally disappeared, in the blink of an eye. The other men didn't  seem to mind, so Dean figured that was normal for them.

At least, if he was going crazy, he wasn't alone.

 ** _You are not really FBI agents, are you?_** He signed to "agent" Cash, just to do something. He had sent Aaron to his house,  convinced that the kid wouldn't be making deals with his soul ever again, and now there was nothing to do but wait.

And he was curious.  

There was something about this men that made him want to trust them, even if so far they hadn't really done a thing to earn his trust.

"No, we're not," the older man answered, earning himself a glare from the younger man. Dean was getting the feeling that 'agent Denver' pretty much disapproved everything around him. "My name is Bobby Singer, this is Sam Winchester. We're hunters."

"Bobby!" Oh, yeah. Sam Winchester didn't like when things didn't go according to his script.

"What? We might as well tell him," Bobby said, and there was something else. A silent conversation between them. Dean couldn't guess what they were saying with their eyes, but he knew they were having an argument. He was well versed in silent conversations after all. "We can't let him go on blissfully ignorant, and you know it."

 ** _Tell me what?_**  Dean signed, foregoing the _real_ question in his head. What did this guys hunt?

With one last disapproving look from Sam, Bobby started explaining Dean about everything.  Angels and Demons were real, but so where ghosts, werewolves, ghouls, wendigos, and every single thing that went bump in the night. And Sam and Bobby, and other people around the world, dedicated their lives to hunting them.

Hunting things. Protecting People.

To Dean, it sounded like a good job. Far more meaningful than his 9 to 7 at the garage. Because he could imagine something like the officer's deaths happening to innocent people. People who didn't deserve to die because a vampire got hungry, or a ghost was still mad about something that happened thousands of years ago.

It sounded like something Dean could do. Except... he wouldn't like to leave Alfie alone.

 ** _And his brother?_** he asked, remembering how Sam had reacted upon seeing him. While it sounded like hunting was a worthwhile activity, he couldn't imagine that the retirement plan was very good. **_Was he a hunter too?_**

"It's... complicated..." Bobby said, at the same time Dean heard the key from the front door.

"Dean? I saw your car outside, I thought you were..."

Alfie stopped  as he realized that Dean wasn't alone. Dean was starting to wonder exactly how he was going to explain the two hunters in the living room when something strange happened. His brother's face went completely emotionless as he saw the other men. And still... it reminded Dean of how Castiel looked at him.

The angel choose that exact moment to reappear in the living room, and as he took one look at Alfie, all hell broke loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if it's the same in the USA, but since angels are all knowing, I'm pretty sure that Castiel would know that yes, every 6 of January, Kids of Mexico, Spain and other parts of the world ask toys from Balthazar (Well, and Melchor and Gaspar,and they're not angels, but the name fits. And I didn't want to torture Aaron so... sorry about that)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raphael did more than take Dean's memories away, and it's time for Samandiriel to pick a side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still unbetaed, as my beta is MIA. If you see any glaring mistakes, please, let me know.

Sam disliked Dean's 'brother' the moment the kid entered the room. It was not really the kid's fault, he figured, except that he was part of what kept Dean trapped in this place. The kid didn't even looked like Dean, not enough to be passed off as his brother. He was shorter than Dean to start with, which was just wrong. He had brown short hair, and at the moment was wearing a horrible white and red shirt from the Weiner hut.

And he was 95% sure that the kid had gone and gotten himself possessed by an angel. Sam couldn't always tell, some angels were far better than Cas at pretending to be human, but there still was a stiffness on the way they stood that was hard to miss if one knew what to look for.

However, before Sam could assess the threat and if the angel was going to be openly hostile like the last one they had encountered, Castiel appeared in front of them.  Sam barely had time to register that Dean was not surprised anymore to see the angel appear before Cas pulled out his angel sword and tried to ram Dean's 'brother' to a wall.

Tried, because Dean, in typical Dean fashion, decided to get between the two angels before Cas could reach the other one.

Dean signed something that, for once, needed no translation. Sam knew his brother well. Dean was  in  his 'overprotective older brother mood' so he probably was saying something like 'You'll touch my brother over my dead body'.  Sam had been behind Dean in such mode more than once, even since he was a kid and Dean threatened to kill bullies just for looking at Sam.

Except that now Dean was protecting the wrong person. Sam had never seen that, not even when they had fought each other thanks to the Siren's venom. And, as far as Sam remembered, Dean had never once defended him from an angry angel.

Yes, Sam had to admit, he was jealous.

"He is not your brother, Dean," Cas said, calmly. He hadn't put his blade down but he was not attacking. Dean signed something else, and Cas shook his head. "He's an angel, like myself. I fear he must be controlling your memories to make you forget your real brother."

That made an impression on Sam's head. They had once forgotten each other thanks to Zachariah. Sam still remembered his month as "Sam Wesson", and how even if he had thought "Dean Smith" was familiar, he hadn't felt any emotional connection to him. And that time? Zachariah had only taken him for the ride because he knew Sam wouldn't stop looking for Dean if he remembered.

The problem was that Sam didn't remember how he had remembered he was Sam Winchester. One moment he had destroyed the computers in the tech support floor, handing his resignation and thinking that Smith was a coward for not doing the same, and the next, he was Sam Winchester again.

However, that train of thought was interrupted when Dean violently doubled over himself in pain, touching his head.  Castiel moved forward,  but 'Alfie' was faster, touching Dean's forehead in a gesture   Sam knew all too well.  In the instant his fingers touched Dean's forehead, Dean's seixure stopped and Dean closed his eyes,  falling into the Samandiriel's arms, who, to Sam's distaste, seemed actually protective of Dean.

Sam risked a side glance at Bobby, who was discretely grabbing his gun. Sam did the same.  From experience, he knew that angels were immune to bullets, but he felt better with a weapon in his hand.

*                                                                                 *        *

Castiel wasn't fast enough to stop Samandiriel from putting Dean to sleep, which was troubling him, as he felt that once again he had failed to protect Dean... and he had failed his brother too. He had recognized the other angel immediately. Samandiriel, one of the youngest member of his garrison, who was usually relegated to the least important missions. It hurt Castiel to think that yet another of the ones he had considered his friends were now fighting against him. He would've preferred to see any other of his brothers at the moment.

Because he couldn't believe that Samandiriel would manipulate Dean's... any human's mind the way in which Dean had been manipulated. While the younger angel had never been as fond of humanity as Anna or Castiel himself, he had never been as derisive as Uriel. It made no sense.

But before he could get answers, Castiel needed to get Dean away from the angel.

"What did you do to him, Samandiriel?," Castiel asked, putting his sword away. Samandiriel had not made a move to attack him yet, and now Cas's priority was Dean's wellbeing. "Why was he in pain? Why doesn't he remember us? ."

"I don't know," Samandiriel answered, ignoring Dean's affronted signs. It seemed that now that they were there, the other angel had decided to forego the charade. "I didn't take his memories. I was just ordered to watch him."

"What the hell did you do to him?!" Sam and Bobby yelled, bringing up their useless guns. Castiel couldn't blame them for being angry, but until he figured out what was Samandiriel's angle, they were running the risk of hurting Dean, so he moved slightly, just enough so he could block any bullet fired. "Why did you put him to sleep?"

"I thought you wanted an explanation," Samandiriel said, looking down. Castiel frowned, since his brother actually looked repentant. As if he wasn't happy with his own actions. "And Dean... he can't hear what I have to tell you."

"Why not?" Sam asked, at the same time as Castiel did. And, unless Castiel was mistaken, Samandiriel looked even more guilty.

"Raphael won't allow it," the angel explained, looking down to Dean as he placed him on the couch. "Whenever I have tried to tell him about his memories, about my true self... he has a seizure like the one you saw."

"Why would you care if Dean suffers?" Sam was just one wrong word from attacking Samandiriel, and Castiel wasn't sure if he would stop the mortal. He used to believe that the younger angel was a friend, that Samandiriel understood that mankind were their Father's creation and thus worth protecting. He didn't like to be proven wrong.

"Dean is the Righteous Man, if nothing else, that means that we should ease his suffering," Samandiriel answered, making Castiel frown. That sounded too rehearsed, too artificial, even for an angel."And I've grown fond of him in the past months. He shouldn't suffer more on my account."

"Explain yourself brother, from the beginning," Castiel commanded, bringing out his angel blade again. He was getting a very bad feeling about the situation, and the sooner he had the whole information, the sooner he could insure Dean's safety.

***

"I don't know how Dean was captured by Raphael, or why our brother decided to take away his memories," Samandiriel tried to explain to his brother, Lucifer's Vessel and Robert Singer, at the same time he kept an eye on the sleeping form of the Rigtheous Man. "He appointed me with watching over him, since I was the only one in the garrison with a vessel of the appropriate age."

"What for?" Sam Winchester stepped forward, as if to hit Samandiriel, but Castiel stopped him. "Michael is trapped with Lucifer in the cage, he can't use my brother as his personal condom! So what the hell are you watching my brother for?"

"Raphael plans to free our brothers," Castiel said for the benefit of the mortals. That was why heaven was divided now. Samandiriel had thought once that it was all Castiel's fault. Castiel, and Anna, the two angels that had insisted that Father didn't want Paradise on Earth just yet. Now, he wasn't all that sure. "He must assume that with a fake set of memories, Dean would've more agreeable to accept Michael."

"That was the plan, yes," Samandiriel lowered his head, checking that Dean was still asleep.  He was keeping the mortal asleep, but Dean had surprised him once before.

"It won't work." Castiel was glaring at him in such a way that Samadiriel wondered why his vessel hadn't burst up in flames. He was obviously not happy with the closeness Samandiriel had with the Righteous Man. None of them were. "Even without his memories, Dean wouldn't accept to be used as a tool for mankind destruction."

"Just give him back his memories and leave him alone," Sam said. "That plan is useless anyway. The cage can't be opened."

"And yet, here you are," Samandiriel countered. He had no idea how Lucifer's vessel had been freed when Lucifer and Michael themselves were still inside the cage Father had created, but it was obvious for him that it meant that the cage was failing. "I am sure Raphael has a way to get Michael out.  It doesn't matter now, because he won't be able to find our brother's vessel."

"What do you mean?" Robert Singer had kept silent until now, and Samandiriel was sure that he was considering all their possible exits in case this was a trap.

"We cannot sense Dean with our grace," Samandiriel explained. He was sure it had been Castiel's work, although he could sense Sam Winchester without problems. He should mention that to Castiel, except that then... then he would be accepting that he wasn't on Raphael's side. He would've rebelling. "If he left Easter, where Raphael has him watched in every corner... it would be impossible for us to find him again unless someone prayed the information to us. Even if only Raphael can give him back his memories... at the very least he would be safe, wouldn't he?"

"You want us to make him come with us? Without his memories?" Sam frowned, looking confused. Samandiriel didn't blame him, he was confused by his own actions.

"I can't give him his memories back, and I can't let Raphael keep using him," Samandiriel said, looking down towards the sleeping Dean. That was as close to the truth as he could say.  It was what he could understand of his own motives anyhow.

"There's a problem with that plan," Robert Singer interrupted, frowning at Samandiriel. "How different is 'Dean Derringer' from 'Dean Winchester'?"

"When Zachariah zapped us, Dean was his complete opposite," Sam added. "I remember him eating salads, and not wanting to take any risk with his health. It took me a lot to convince him to check the ghost haunting, and he really didn't want to get on the road to hunt again."

"Raphael said that that was Zachariah's biggest mistake," Samandiriel explained. " Dean Smith was too different from Dean's true self. Sooner than later, his true personality would've broken through. What he did now was to merely change his memories to erase all signs of the supernatural. That was why I was placed here, because he needed someone to fill the role of the younger brother."

"And the Dean we know would never leave his younger brother alone, especially if he thinks that his brother could be in danger." Singer finished. "So how are we going to convince this Dean to come with us?"

***

  ** _You want to do what?!_**  Dean signed angrily at his brother. He was no longer paying attention to the fake FBI agents.

"I want to be a hunter, Dean, I want to help people," Alfie repeated, not backing down. It was almost  a repeat of the time when Alfie had declared that he was going to get a part time job to help Dean with their expenses. That time, Dean had relented. But this time? He was not going to let his brother ruin his life.

 ** _You will help more people when you finish medical school!_** He pointed out.  He was trying very hard not to pay attention to the idiots who had convinced Alfie to throw away his life while Dean had been unconscious. He hated when that happened, and it was far more often that he wanted to admit. He just hoped that Alfie wouldn't use the fainting spells as a reason why Dean couldn't take care of him. Last thing he remembered was Alfie arriving home, and then, nothing. Just his brother telling him he wanted to quit college to go and become a drifter.

"If I become a hunter, I can help people that no one helps. There are thousands of doctors in America, but there aren't many hunters with medical knowledge," Alfie told him.

"Actually, it would help a lot to have a hunter with medical knowledge," Winchester interrupted, and Dean glared at him. He had disliked Winchester when he thought he was an FBI agent and now he liked him even less.

 ** _You're going to get yourself killed,_** Dean insisted. Sure, he wasn't sure of exactly what hunters had to face in a daily basis, but he had seen enough. 

He didn't want to imagine his little brother going against something like the angel he had faced at the police station. 

"That's why I want to go with them, Dean," Alfie tried to explain. "Sam and Mr. Singer are two of the best hunters in the country. They can teach me how to survive."

 ** _But can they protect you?_**  Dean  knew that Alfie was not going to change his mind. He had a lot of other questions, starting with how the hell had his brother known about Hunters in the first place, why he wanted to be one, and why hadn't he told Dean _before_ people started getting liquefied in their city.  

"I can protect myself, I don't need you to babysit me."

Dean sighed. Alfie was incredibly stubborn, and he never understood that Dean was there to take care of him. Sure, Dean was not the best person you could have to watch your back, not with his muteness and the epilepsy, but he would still die before letting anything happen to his baby brother.  He couldn't say the same of the others.

He couldn't trust those strangers to keep his brother alive.

So, if he couldn't convince Alfie that becoming a hunter and leaving everything behind was stupid... then there was only one possible solution.

**_I'm not your babysitter. I'm your brother. And if you're going to risk your life... then I'm going to be right behind you._ **

Alfie seemed relieved at that, as he hugged him tightly, not letting him sign anymore. However, he could still see the other men. Singer and the angel looked happy, as if they had been counting on him to come along. But Winchester? He looked furious.

Dean could already tell that he was going to hate traveling with that guy.

 ***

Sam was going to kill Raphael with his bare hands even if that meant he had to climb his way up to Heaven.  And then he was going to kill Samandiriel just to make himself feel better, because both angels had effectively stolen his brother from him.

Either that, or he was still in hell because he was certainly being tortured. If this was Lucifer's plan, he couldn't have done better.

First, it had been Dean trying to convince "Alfie" to give up the idea of becoming a hunter, so he could go to college. That had been hard, especially as Sam remembered Dean saying exactly the opposite to him. Right then, Sam had thought that his life couldn't get worse. 

Until Dean signed that if they were going to get on the road, he was not going to leave "Baby" behind.

Apparently, his brother had been in an accident a couple of months before and thus, the Riviera they had seen him in was a loan from his boss, while he fixed his real car.

At the time, Sam had been relieved to see that the Impala was not only intact but was still Dean's most important possession. While he didn't have the same unhealthy attachment to the car that his brother had, he couldn't have bested Lucifer if it hadn't been for all the memories that his brother's car held for him. For one brief second, Sam believed that everything was going to be fine.

Until he tried to get on the passenger seat of the Impala just to be stopped by Dean grabbing him by the shoulder.  Apparently, only "family" could ride Baby. Even Cas's offer to go with them had been denied.  Dean really didn't want anyone but his "brother" with him. And since Dean had said he was going to go with them, insisting on keeping a close eye on them was not going to make Dean like them more.

So instead of being on the passenger seat of the Impala, riding next to his brother... he was riding on the passenger seat of Bobby's Chevelle, wondering how could they break Raphael's hold on his brother's head.

They rode on silence, Sam glaring at the Impala's lights shining on the back mirror, until they reached the state line. At that point, Sam wished that Bobby at least would let him turn on the radio since the silence in the car was starting to get on his nerves. He thought that, if Dean wasn't mute thanks to Raphael, at this point he would've singing along AC/DC, Van Halen or Metallica, while Sam asked him not to.  It had been familiar, it had been the way things were supposed to go, before Dean sold his soul.

Immersed on his memories, at first Sam didn't register the strange static noise until Bobby mentioned it.

"What is that?" Bobby asked at the same time that Castiel demanded that they stopped the car. The noise grew in intensity, hurting Sam's ears. Thankfully, Bobby hit the brakes, as he also had to cover his own ears. Sam barely had time to see that the Impala had also stopped, when the mirror and all the windows shattered at the same time.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asked, once the sound stopped. His ears hurt, and he was pretty sure he was feeling the beginnings of the worst headache of his life.

"That was an angel speaking," Castiel said, just before he disappeared from the back seat, making Sam curse.  Obviously, they were not going to be able to escape Raphael that easily.

***

_As it stands, silence is the only protection these mortals have_

Chauron's words echoed in Castiel's head as he flew towards the Impala. He couldn't help but feel that if Dean was hurt again, it was only his fault for not paying attention.  He had heard a soft, almost familiar voice, singing in enochian coming out of nowhere, but it had been so low, so tentative, that he hadn't actually registered that it was real until he saw the jeep windshield start to crack.

In the split second that took him to reach the black car, he got his sword ready. If Samandiriel had decided to betray them after all, if another one of his brothers was there trying to hurt Dean, he wanted to be prepared. Instead, he found Samandiriel covering Dean's mouth with his hand, looking as confused as Castiel felt.

"What happened?" 

"I don't understand," Samandiriel answered, at the same time as Dean batted his hands away. The older Winchester was angry, as angry as Castiel had seen him when he had thought that they were going to smite the town of Salem. Castiel lowered his sword, trying to make sure that Dean realized that he meant no harm to him, Samandiriel or the Impala.

And then, his world turned upside down again when Dean opened his mouth.

" _I can talk!"_  The mortal said clearly. But instead of a normal, human voice, the voice that Castiel had grown to like in the course of two years on Earth, what came out of Dean's mouth was clearly the true voice of an angel. Same pitch, same volume. Same destructive properties, since Castiel could hear the front lights of the Impala shatter. " _Why can I...?"_

"Don't , Dean!" Castiel advised. "If you do that again, you could hurt your brother."

Dean frowned, looking at Samandiriel, before turning back to Castiel again. For one moment, the angel was afraid that his friend would try to speak again, but instead, Dean started signing again.

 ** _Why was I speaking?_**  Dean signed quickly. **_I can't speak. And what the hell happened to the windows?_**

"Are you all right?" Sam wouldn't have stayed with Bobby, Castiel realized belatedly. Not when Dean could be in trouble. "Where's the angel?"

" _What-"_ Dean started asking, but once again the voice that came out of his throat wasn't human. But while both Castiel and Samandiriel weren't affected by it, Sam was not one of those very few humans who could withstand an angel voice and thus, he immediately covered is ears trying to protect himself from the white noise that was how human brains translated the sound of angels speaking.

Dean seemed to realize what he had done, as he pointed at Sam before signing at Castiel again.

**_What angel? What's wrong with him?_ **

Castiel looked at Samandiriel, wondering if the younger angel knew what was wrong with their charge. As it was, Castiel had only once seen a human vessel speak with the voice of an angel. Thousands of years in the past, when mankind was barely starting to create their first civilization. The first angel that had taken a vessel had not know how to manipulate human vocal cords. The bodies  were far too primitive, far too limiting to what angels really where. It had taken some practice back then, even if now they all could do it almost instinctively.

Only an angel who had never taken a vessel, not since the beginning of time, wouldn't know how to use human vocal cords. But as Castiel saw Dean, there was no sign of possession. There was nothing inside Dean that wasn't Dean. While he couldn't be completely sure without touching the human 's soul, just by looking he couldn't see any difference in the bright soul he had rescued from Hell.

"What the hell was that?" Bobby joined them, just as Sam got back on his feet.

"Is Dean possessed?" Sam asked, with so much concern that Castiel figured that it wouldn't be long before Dean would start asking again why those strangers were so concerned about his well being.

"He's not," Castiel tried to reassure the younger Winchester.  But the truth was that he couldn't quite tell. There were traces of angelic energy around Dean, but unless Castiel purposely touched Dean's soul again to make sure, now that he knew that Dean's  human voice had been replaced by an angel's. 

 ** _Can someone explain me what's going on?_**  Dean signed, frustrated. **_Is this a side effect of killing that angel?_**

"Dean killed an angel?" Samandiriel asked, obviously shocked at the news. "When?"

 ** _It was self defense_** , Dean signed quickly, just as Bobby  reached them.

"Whatever we're discussing, wouldn't it be better to argue about this out of the road? And somewhere where we know that angels can't eavesdrop?"

 ***

The thing that Hester hated the most about having to pretend to be human was that some of the emotions that her vessel had felt before accepting to house her grace  bleed onto her. At first it had been something almost unnoticeable: she already felt pity for the humans for having to suffer through sickness and pain on Earth, but pretending to be a nurse made her feel pity for specific humans. That was not a problem, as she could actually make the ones who were closer to death feel better by assuring them with absolute knowledge that Paradise waited for them.

But as the weeks passed and she was still bound by human flesh, other emotions made their appearance.

She was frustrated that her mission was not over, for example. Originally, she had thought it was a reward for her loyalty: She had found Michael's Vessel when someone prayed for a John Doe that had had an accident  and thus, had been the first to inform Raphael that there was no one protecting Dean Winchester at the time.  Raphael had come down immediately, and Hester originally assumed that he would take the human to a safe house. Instead, she found herself summoned to pose as Winchester's nurse, with the specific mission to erase the enochian runes that Castiel, the traitor, had carved on the human.

A mission that should have been easy, almost immediate. But she had failed then, and no matter how many times the human came back to the hospital, thanks to Raphael's manipulation  of his memories, she still couldn't make it so that all angels could find Dean Winchester with a thought.

On those weeks, Dean  Winchester, now Derringer, made her know anger, and , the first time she had seen him have a seizure  caused by unknown reasons, worry.

But now, what she was feeling was fear.

Because when she hadn't been able to erase those damned runes, Raphael had sent more angels to help her. She knew each one of them, and where they were posted, as Dean's friends, coworkers, clients... and of course, his brother.

And she didn't know how to tell Raphael that she had just lost contact with Samandiriel, or that when she went to the apartment that they had secured for "Derringer" and his "brother", she had found it empty.

But worse than the frustration, the pity, the anger or even the fear, there was also a small nagging doubt.

Why Raphael had insisted on erasing the Righteous man 's memory when he had first been alone with him? Why not take him to the green room or even a temporal heaven while the rest of the garrison rescued Michael?

And why  she couldn't remember  how she had tried to erase the runes on Dean's ribs?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in Singer's Scrapyard, the group starts putting the clues together. But as Castiel starts realizing that perhaps someone other than Raphael is involved, Sam gets a surprise visitor.

Singer Salvage Yard was not at all what Dean was expecting at first sigth from a hunter's headquarters where he and his brother were supposed to learn  how to be hunters. In fact, it looked just like very single scrapyard he remembered.

However, as he parked the Impala outside the house, he couldn't help but feel that it looked right , as if that place had been waiting for his baby.

He had been very careful on the trip, biting his own lips as to avoid talking again. And that had been a surprise. He hadn't even noticed when he had started singing along his tapes, and he was terrified at the idea that he could have hurt his brother when his voice had, apparently, destroyed all the window panes from both his baby and Singer's Chevelle.  Castiel, had fixed both with a touch, but it felt wrong for Dean. If he had hurt the Impala, it had to be him the one who fixed it. He had promised his father that he would take care of the Impala when he had inherited it. After all, it was the only good thing in his life that his father had given him.

Fixing it with magic was cheating.

"We need to figure out what happened on the road," Singer said  motioning them to follow him through the yard to a  round structure hidden among the cars. "And the panic room is the one place we can ward against angels."

**_You built a panic room?_**  Dean asked, as soon as they were inside it. It didn't look like much, but there was something about the round, metallic walls that made his skin crawl.  A sense of dread, and deja vú that no matter how much he tried to ignore, just kept clawing at him.

"I had a weekend off," Singer answered, looking at Dean as if he had been expecting that question.  But before Dean could really think about that, the older man turned to the angel and thus, couldn't see Dean's hands anymore. "What did you mean when you said that Dean had angelic energy around him?"

"And why was he speaking like an angel?" Winchester added, not taking his eyes from Alfie and Dean. As if he was expecting them to sprout wings, or something. Dean figured that was going to be a problem, especially if Winchester worked closely with Singer and Alfie wanted to learn from them.  If one was going to go against guys who could fry you with their thoughts, then it was a good idea to have backup you could trust. "Is it because...?"

"I would need to touch his soul to investigate," Castiel interrupted, making Dean frown. The angel had been very polite when speaking to them, so listening to him interrupt was strange. It made Dean be sure that Castiel was trying to hide something, and the idea didn't settle with him. Because he actually wanted to trust the guy.

He wanted to trust them all, he realized right then. Even if Sam Winchester was looking at him as if he had killed his pet dog.

**_No one is touching my soul,_** he signed. **_I thought we agreed that it had been some leftover from that guy at the station._**

To Dean's surprise, Castiel glanced at Sam, as if asking _him_ for permission to act. Dean tensed immediately, fearing a fight. But Sam shook his head slightly. Apparently, they were going to respect his choice.

"I thought you were going to teach us how to be hunters," Alfie asked, and Dean would've groaned if he had been able too. It was very obvious that his little brother wanted to change the subject. "How can we learn here?"

"You can come with us to the house," Sam answered before anyone else could. "But Dean should stay here, where it's safe."

**_Why?_**  Dean signed, confused since his brother didn't back him up. **_I can take care of myself._**

Only then he remembered that Sam didn't understand him, so he glared at Castiel and Mr.Singer until they translated.

"Because  angels might be after you, and while Cas here can offer some protection, he also needs to help us figure out why they're after you," Sam said. "Look, if you want, we can bring you stuff to help us with the research, but it's safer for everyone if you stay here."

**_But I..._ **

"This room will also insure that your brother is not endangered if there are other side effects to what happened to you," Castiel interrupted. "Our true voices might cause damage overtime, but if any other aspect of Kutiel's grace manifested near you..."

"Can that happen?" Now Sam looked... worried. And that confused Dean, because Sam looked as if he was worried about _Dean_ , not about what could happen to them if there were other side effects. That made no sense. Besides, Dean felt fine. Of course, the voice thing had been a surprise, but  Dean could avoid that. After all, he hadn't been able to talk since he was 4 years old.

"I don't know," Castiel answered, glaring at Sam. Dean had to bite down a chuckle, since it was sort of funny to see the angel frustrated. "Which is exactly why Dean should stay here."

*             *             *

After Dean accepted to stay in the Panic Room, Bobby led Sam and their unwanted guest back upstairs.

"What the hell was that?" Bobby asked, immediately, not letting anyone talk. He could see that Sam was ready to punch Samandiriel, and that would only end up hurting the idjit boy more than the angel.  What they needed were answers, and fast. "Is an angel riding Dean?"

"No"

"It doesn't feel like that," both Samandiriel and Castiel answered at the same time. Castiel glared at Samandiriel who just stared back, not intimidated. How the kid had managed to pretend he was human long enough to fool Dean, even an amnesic Dean, Bobby didn't know.

"Angels aren't like demons," Samandiriel explained, as if he was talking to very small children. "Not only we need consent, we also need very specific vessels. And no angel would dare to take Michael's vessel as his own, not even temporarily."

"An angel would know to control his true voice," Castiel added. "Even if the vessel was born mute, an angel can heal the vocal cords in order to mimic human voice. Unless of course, said angel had never took a vessel before."

"Which is impossible," Samandiriel said and, when he realized that not all of the people in the room knew what he and Castiel were talking about, decided to take pity on the humans and elaborate. "After Michael defeated Lucifer, Father commanded that we all should try to understand humanity better, and walk for a year among them so we would learn to love humanity."

"And I take it didn't work,"  Bobby said. While he hadn't had much contact with angels other than Castiel, what Dean and Sam told him was more than enough to know that.

"It doesn't matter, does it? My brother was not born mute," Sam interrupted, obviously annoyed by the way the conversation seemed to sidetrack. And Bobby didn't blame him, since this had to be harder on the younger man than on everyone else. "So what the hell did you do to him?"

"He believes he was rendered mute in an accident when he was four years old," Samandiriel explained. "Another of our sisters posed as his doctor to make sure he wouldn't be told otherwise. But as far as I know, his body is undamaged. He should be able to speak normally, if he remembered he can."

"So Raphael was covering all his bases, uh? Gotta respect the bastard, he planned this better than Zachariah when he tried to take the boys out of commission." Bobby walked to the kitchen to grab a beer. This was getting more complicated by the minute.

"Even if Dean thinks he's mute, that doesn't mean he is, or explains the angel voice," Sam insisted. "We have to undo it. We can't keep Dean in the panic room forever!"

"Perhaps it wasn't Raphael who caused this," Castiel finally said. "He had Chauron posted in Easter to keep someone silenced. It must have been Dean, since we only heard him speak after we left the city limits."

"Dean was speaking normally after we parted ways," Bobby shook his head. It seemed that every step forward, something send them three steps back. "But here's a thought. We could do the same thing. Bind Dean's voice to silence until we get his memories back and he can tell us what happened to him before Raphael found him."

"But I don't understand him!" Sam complained, as Bobby figured he was going to do.

"Well, unless you want your brother to render us all deaf if this angelic crap doesn't fade away, it's about time you learn some ASL fast."

*             *             *

When Zachariah and Uriel had come forward with the plan to work with Lilith and her demons to free Lucifer, Raphael had expressed doubt.

It had been at that moment when he realized that Father was dead. After all, doubt was punished with falling, and yet here Raphael stood, the only archangel surviving the failed apocalypse, while Zachariah and Uriel had been killed by the rebellious angels who had sided with the Winchesters.

It seemed ironic at the time, since both his dead brothers had been sure that hte Apocalypse would make Father return to Heaven. They had never doubted, not like Raphael had.

But now only Raphael stood in Heaven. He still wished to bring the Apocalypse to Earth. As far as he was concerned, the mud monkeys had overstayed their welcome. It was time for a new order, and no one would stand on his way.

Securing Michael's vessel while they found a way to replicate the two last seals to break the cage that now housed both Michael and Lucifer had been a stroke of luck. One that, thanks to Hester's incompetence and Samandiriel's betrayal, had been wasted.

Which meant that now he had to resort to the same tactics as Zachariah.

The demon appeared as soon as Raphael finished the summoning incantation. Unlike others of its kind, it didn't seem scared. If anything, it looked angry. Convinced that it was going to survive to see another day because it was useful to Raphael.

"Well, what do you want, pal?" It asked, obviously impatient. "I know your kind is not fond of social calls, and now we have nothing to talk about. Not now that Lucifer was captured again."

"The agreement between Heaven and Hell is not finished, demon. The Apocalypse didn't happen, so the contract is still valid."

"Not a crossroad demon, feathers." The demon smirked at him. "And it wasn't MY side the one that fucked the plan up. We did everything  we were supposed to do, it was your guys who couldn't make sure that Winchester One followed the plan."

"That was being dealt with, demon," Raphael answered, ignoring the insolence. "The original plan is still  viable, but given the circumstances, it will be necessary for Heaven and Hell to collaborate further."

"Sorry to tell you this, chocolate bear, but I'm lying low. There's a new boss in Hell, and he wasn't very fond of the whole free Lucifer plan."

"Which is why I am talking to you and not to him. You were working closely with my brother, and I know you're loyal to him. You want to see him free."

"Not if it's just for your general Michael to kill him as soon as he's out," the demon pointed out. Raphael smiled, as he had been expecting this.

"The original deal was that Lucifer would rule Earth, as he pleased, for four years after Winchester said yes. I am prepared to change the deal on your favor."

"Again, not a crossroad demon. But if this ends with Crowley's head on a pike, and the Winchester pests dead? I want in." The demon smiled, and her vessel's eyes turned black. "But if we're going to do this? No more of this 'demon' crap. The name is Meg."

*             *             *

When Dean died for the hundredth time, the one that was supposed to be definitive, Sam had taken to take long walks in the morning, trying  to clear his mind and figure out how to get his brother out of hell. At first, it had been because he was looking for crossroads, to find one where the demon was willing to make a deal. Later, when he hooked up with Ruby, he had also needed to burn some excess energy after drinking her blood when there were no demons to exorcise or kill.

In hindsight, he couldn't believe he had thought drinking demon blood was a _good_ thing.

Now, he needed to get away from Bobby's house, if only for an hour or two. Away from the panic room where he knew that Dean was fuming, where Bobby was still  sleeping and Castiel was educating Samandiriel on the finer points of being a rebel angel who had to stay  hidden from Raphael's attention.

He needed his brother _back._

As he walked into the town of Sioux Falls, he wondered if they should pray to Gabriel. He had promised he would look around for Dean, and they had found Dean after all. Not only that, Gabriel was as powerful as Raphael. If anyone could break the hold Raphael had on Dean's memories, it had to be him. But then, Sam still hadn't quite forgiven the archangel for killing his brother a hundred times just for fun, and at the same time, he didn't want Gabriel to ask more questions about Sam's own escape from Hell.

Sam had to choose between keeping his secret, or help Dean. Sam knew what Dean would do in his place, but he still wasn't ready to give that information up.

He missed his brother. Dean would know what to do. In fact, that's what he had been counting on from the moment he decided to jump into the Cage. That Dean would, despite the promise they made, find a way to save him, find a way to fix everything. But now... now he had to do it without Dean.

He walked into the Gas-N-Sip, hoping that they would have pie. While 'Dean Derringer' had never mentioned having a favorite food, Sam knew his brother, and his brother would never pass up the chance to eat some pie. And maybe that would be enough to sparkle something... at the very least, the knowledge that there as something wrong with his memories, something to make Dean trust them enough to let Castiel touch his soul.

"Oh, thank god, I found you!" Sam looked up, confused.  Becky Rosen was standing in front of him, next to three wheeled suitcases, a backpack and a pet carry on. "I was so afraid that Chuck had  decided to change the name of the town where Bobby lived, so I'd have to walk around the whole South Dakota looking for you. And now that I think of it, maybe Chuck _should_ have change the names of the towns because I really don't know how people haven't connected two and two together yet and realized that everything in the books is real, because..."

"Becky, what are you doing here?" Sam interrupted her before she could go into a tangent.  He needed to get her out of there, as soon as possible.

"The angel said I was in danger at Chuck's house and that I had to find you," Becky explained, sounding  very nervous. As if she was expecting to get yelled at. Not that Sam wasn't thinking about it.

"What angel? Becky you know that angels are not to be trusted..."

"His name is Balthazar," Becky hurriedly said. "He's on Chuck's notes, and Chuck says he's one of the good guys. That he's friends with Castiel. Oh! Is Castiel with you? Did he really rebelled against Heaven for Dean? Well, of course he did, because that's what Chuck wrote but.."

 "Becky, focus, please. You found Chuck's notes? Did he write about what happened to Dean _after_ we defeated Lucifer?"

"I haven't found those yet," Becky pouted, looking at one of her suitcases. "But I brought all his hard drives with me so I can keep looking. But before I do that, we need to talk."

"Becky, I don't have time..."

"No! You're going to listen to me, Sam Winchester!" Becky's yell echoed through the store, and Sam didn't know who was more surprised. Up until now, she had always acted around him as if he could do no wrong. Seeing her stand up to him was strangely refreshing.  And then she bit her lip, looked straight at him and said the words he really didn't want to hear. "I know how you got out of Hell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry, this has been slow. But the latest episodes have made really hard for me to write protective!Sam. Hopefully, a rewatch of the whole series will help to get away from this block.  
> Also, I know it's short, but next one will be longer. It's just that my love for cliffhangers didn't let me avoid this particular one. *ducks*

**Author's Note:**

> This is my nano for this year. Right now it's unbetaed but as soon as I can, I'll correct the mistakes. I promise.   
> This is also my first Supernatural fic. As you can imagine, I'm really, really nervous.


End file.
